Philippine E-Journals

Rice in Palaw’an Labor Culture: Its Changing Significance to Consumption, Production, and School Attendance

JERONE AVEL CANSINO

 

Abstract:

This study describes the role of rice as it causes the shifts that are happening in the Palaw’an labor culture as well as its effect to the students’ attendance in school. Further, this study presents how the shifts affect the consumption and production patterns of the Palaw’an and identifies some opportunities that could be utilized to help them cope with the challenges they face. This study reveals that the place of rice in their culture has evolved from being a sacred and ceremonial crop to being a staple food source. This shift is connected to their new lifestyle and changes in their livelihood patterns. The shift contributed to the increase in the demand for rice and presumably added to their food insecurity which was seemingly not much of a problem before the shift occurred. Contributory to this problem are the challenges posed by the changing environmental conditions which resulted in the decrease in harvest of their crops. These consequences caused the shifting livelihood patterns of the present Palaw’an communities. The concept of income and the increase in demand for rice changed their labor culture. They adopted new labor activities to cope with the changing realities they now encounter.