Changing mindsets

I had the chance to meet 15 leaders from eight Indigenous People (IP) tribes over the weekend as they wanted to tour our humble farm in Amadeo, Cavite. These leaders, mostly women, are in a course called Indigenous Community-Based Enterprise (ICBE) conducted by Pamulaan Foundation headed by Ben Abadiano, a longtime colleague at Peace and Equity Foundation.

The leaders came from as far north as Kalinga to as far south as South Cotabato, and all were looking for inspiration to bring back to their communities. So they wanted to see what we had in our herbal garden and in our coffee farm.

But first, coffee. We served them black coffee and challenged them to enjoy the brew without adding sugar and/or milk. You see, people automatically add cream, or non-dairy creamer or milk, and sugar to coffee. I was waiting with bated breath to hear their comments. All I could hear though were sighs of agreement, pleasure and honest realizations. “Ma’am, now lang ako nakainom ng coffee na walang sugar. Masarap pala!” (It’s my first time to take coffee without sugar. It tastes good.)

Next, we asked them why we think of making profit, when we can first think of food security. “Feed yourselves first, before you feed others,” I told them, to drive home the point about growing our own food before we grow food for others and hopefully make a profit in the process. And they nodded, sharing that they never thought of it that way. They would trade their chicken for the much-coveted can of sardines. Can you imagine the trade off? Sardines, in one community, is considered a prized food product. Until they realized it was ordinary to city folk. And chicken, in these parts, is more precious a commodity.

Next aha! moment for an attendee is feeling poor when they are out of MSG (monosodium glutamate) or vetsin, only to find out that city dwellers now avoid MSG and ask for food without it. So, while you can say “different strokes for different folks,” these Filipinos who live in the highlands and hardly go to the city think that what is on TV or social media is the best food product or the best food to work for or strive to try. Surprise! We city slickers would always ask for chicken, not sardines!

See the difference in understanding of what is precious? What we crave for – heirloom rice, fresh organic vegetables – to them is ordinary and they feel so poor thinking they could not afford any other food but vegetables. Then they saw vegetable prices in the city, and that changed the way they looked at the food available in their backyards.

When I introduced the idea of Slow Food – good, clean and fair food – they shared that these are the food they grew up with, they still eat and again, they thought was ordinary. It is common among all the groups, no matter where they come from, to think that they are the poorest members of society. But who are we to say they are poor?

They actually are blessed with Nature’s bounty, except they are influenced by media to think that they can only be rich or “have arrived” if they can afford sardines or hotdog or if a fast food branch opens in their province and they can now go and enjoy “fast food” as seen on TV.

Both sides – speakers and the audience – shared a few laughs as we compared eating imported apples vs. eating local fruits. They look for white imported rice when they grew up growing heirloom varieties. Why the change in mindset? It’s the influence of media.

But like anyone who says “the grass is greener on the other side,” all it takes is for them to see the city and realize life is good back home. Mindsets can easily be changed if they see a comparison of what city folks eat and what is expensive in the supermarkets.

I showed them adlai, a grain that is more nutritious than rice, and is easily grown anywhere.  They were surprised at how adlai is more expensive than rice, when they have so much of this grain back home, usually just fed to animals. Sometimes, we both have to look over to the other side to see that what we consider ordinary is actually a prized product. And vice versa.

I hope that these 15 leaders influence their community members that they need not come down from the mountain to have a better life. The better life is actually up there where they can grow their food and eat three times a day, than to slug it out and try to get a job in the city. And after getting a job, scrimping to eat instant noodles and unhealthy fare.

The Sunday spent at the farm made them think again. They used to not mind the coffee trees growing on their lands. They used to not mind the adlai grain and used to feed them to hogs. They used to want sardines, more than chicken. Maybe now, they will change their mindset and may never look at coffee and rice the same way again…ever.

One community at a time, is our mantra. If we can share the Slow Food principles with our indigenous peoples, it can mean the preservation of unique cultures and food systems. And for city folks, it may be a good idea to go up the mountains and appreciate the bounty these lucky ones have. Changing mindsets is job number one, if we must change the world. One community at a time.