Ifugao is a landlocked province in the North of the Philippines on the island of Luzon. It is located in the Cordillera Administrative Region and is about an eight hour bus ride from the capital city Manila. The main source of income in Ifugao is farming. It is composed of 11 Municipalities with a population of less than 200,000, making Ifugao one of the least densely populated provinces of the Philippines.
Ifugao is particularly known for its rich indigenous culture, mountainous terrain and vast rice terraces, which were hand carved into the mountains thousands of years ago. These terraces and its farming practices have become essential to the culture and history of the people of Ifugao, shaping their beliefs, practices and rituals. The terraces have been identified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and since then a tremendous amount of energy has been devoted by local organizations to encourage the residents to preserve and fully cultivate them the terraces.
However, the land in this area has not been fully cultivated due to a lack of farmers. As the youth grow to a working age, they choose to flee to the cities to find a better way of life. This keeps the average age of the community very high and prevents the indigenous knowledge, practices, and culture from being past down. Terraces have begun to erode and the farmers cannot stop focusing on their other crops to devote enough time to fix them causing even more erosion. The Philippines is also the largest international importer of rice, despite all of the agricultural land dedicated the growing and production of it. These empty terraces bring a significant amount of economic potential for the production and selling of rice throughout the country with increased production. The only issue is trying to make living and working in these areas more attractive so that people will stay in their communities and cultivate their land.
The specific location of the actual micro hydro site is also crucial to the success of the project due to the possibility of impedance on the lifestyle of the village. If placed improperly, the micro hydro could interfere with the natural flow of water which may harm their agricultural uses by either over flooding or drying out the terraces. Placement of the system will be made sure to be put in an area where the water source is diverted but then immediately returned to its original flow without bypassing any essential crops in between. The powerhouse should also be in an accessible location as to not discourage the technicians from necessary monitoring and upkeep.
Watch videos on Ifugaos vanishing culture made by our partners in the Philippines:
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| Map of Ifugao |
