Protecting the Forest: Learning from the Agawa Women of Besao

By Wilfred V. Alangui & Myra Christine C. Caguioa

Terminologies
REDD - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation
- REDD+ is a framework created by the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) to guide
activities in the forest sector that reduces emissions from deforestation and forest degradation,
as well as the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of
forest carbon stocks in developing countries.
Dap-ay - is a paved raised ceremonial platform
- It primarily serves as a venue for meetings and public forums between the council of elders. It
is the social, religious, and political center of a certain group of families within a village.

Objectives:

- To know the Agwa womens’s traditional knowledge and practices in a particular forest
ecosystem.
- To describe the social and cultural context within which the women perform and develop
their knowledge and practices on forest management, as well as issues they currently facing.
- To identify the various actions and response of the Agawa women to forest issues ang
challenges.

Methodology & Selection of Respondents

To make a case study that can bring about a story about the role of women in forest
management that is “unique”, special or interesting.

The participants were chosen on the basis of their age, Elderly men and women were preferred
as they remain the holders of knowledge and experiences related to forest management. Mostly of their
participants were recommended by the people in the community, that were acknowledge of their
knowledge about the whole village, as well as matters in the forest.

One of the researchers has continuing relations with the Agawa community. He lived in the
community for six months between the years 2002 to 2003, and has maintained personal
acquaintances.

Community profile

Agawa is one of the 14 villages in the Municipality of Besao, in Mt. Province. It belongs to what
is called the nearby villages of Gueday, Lacmaan, Ambaguiw and Tamboan.

Agawa had a total of population of 407 in 2000. Of this, 186 were female and 221 were male
(NSO 2000). Based on barangay (village) records in 2011, the population of Agawa increased to 435, with
`96 females (45.10%) and 239 males (54.90%). They comprise of total of 122 families over 94
households. This population is distributed over six subdistricts (a subdistrict is called a sitio or purok),
namely, Nabanig, Kabog, Eangan, Bilig, Tamkang, and Tantanap.

Political Life

They still continue the importance of the Dap-ay as socio-religious and political institution in
Agawa.

Dap-ay - is a paved raised ceremonial platform

- It primarily serves as a venue for meetings and public forums between the council of elders. It
is the social, religious, and political center of a certain group of families within a village.

The institution comes under the direction of council of elders, the amam-a or lallakay (the male elders).
The important tasks of the institution are; coordinating activities of the agricultural cycle, settling
disputes within and outside the communities (for example, boundary issues, regulating inter-village
affairs, and coordinating rituals of dap-ay members.

Each family belongs to a specific dap-ay, and this membership depends on the purok or sitio to
which that family. The dap-ay marks the political division of the village. This means that there is one
dap-ay for every purok or sitio; thus, there are six in Agawa.

Gueday is believed to be orginal village of Agawa where most of the I-Agawa communities
originated. As the “mother” settlement, the elders of Gueday are also recognized as the most
knowledgeable about the history of the i-Agawa communities, as well as ritual practices.

In the past, they collectively opposed logging and mining operations in their area. The i-Agawa
communities formed the organizations LAGAT (from Lacmaan, Agawa, Gueday, Ambaguiw and
Tamboan) to strengthen their means of protecting their ancestral domain.

Economic Life

They cultivate rice, grown in their extensive rice terraces, that provide subsistence for most of
the people in the village. They also grow root crops like peanuts, corn and sugarcane. Cash comes from
labor, livestock and retail business. A majority of the household are engage in rice farming, and there is
small percentage who are regular wage earners from farm and non-farm jobs.

Main economic problem in Agawa:

• Cost of agricultural inputs

• Distance to the fields
• Absence or lack of jobs

2 types of Forest in Besao

• Pine forest (Batangan)

• Mossy forest (kallasan/pagpag)

These forests are surrounding the areas of i-Agawa communities. These are also the central to
the survival of the people in the communities. The forest provide them hardwood varieties that
are used for timber and farm tools, medicinal plants, foods as it serves as hunting grounds.
Religious life

Anito-spirits

“sinan-adum ay pammati” – (ancient or traditional beliefs)

Patpatayan- sacred tree (tree where elders offer prayers to kabunyan)

Linapet and the Agricultural Cycle

Linapet' is ground rice with fillings of crushed peanuts and wrapped with banana
leaves.
Linapet is celebrated by every 30th of September (or the 29th on a leap year) to signal the
planting of taro or the sowing of seed.

Agricultural Cycle

• Kiling (October)
• Bakakew (February