08/04/2026
๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ช๐ข๐ ๐๐ก
by: Mikara Kaye Z. Jubay
The Woman rises before the sun illuminates every bit of creation. It was as if she was ready to triumph a midst of darkness which has covered her land. She prepares a weapon, walks through a breeze of morning mist, tills the earthen womb and prepares to give birth to all the nourishment her people need. The heart of the sunโs heat displays a ray of passion, of desire, and of hope for 4 women.
Rowena wakes up early to prepare Inuruban. She brings out her sack of young grains which she has gathered from wherever her journey takes her. At times, when this particular young grain is not available at home, she would go as far as the neighboring Quirino province to harvest. She makes sure to fill enough sacks to supply her in the coming months. Taking a handful, she would prepare to roast the grains in charcoal, then pound it in a rice mortar she has been using for quite some time. Then she takes a rest. Using a bolo, she would cut a coconut in half, grate its meat and squeeze out its milk for a delicacy she is known for- here and abroad. On a pan atop the firewood, she pours all the ingredients together, passionately re-creating a cuisine she has inherited from her Mother. Inuruban was the reason her first born earned a college degree, and she will carry on until all her children graduate. The flavors of nostalgia finds its way across a thousand miles. The flavors of hardwork and heritage roams around the streets of Solano and Bayombong. Its ingredients produce a sumptuous reminiscence of homeโฆ and an ardor of a Motherโs love.
There are rooms where light barely penetratesโฆ and as one enters, there is that scent of diligence lingering on the quiet walls. As you walk deeper into an aisle, youโll find sprouts of beautiful mushrooms as though speaking an important lesson- grow even in the darkest of times. La Vizcaina is Graceโs inspiring life story of building new beginnings. Giving up a life abroad, a life dreamt by many, she comes home to a clean slate. With a relatively small place for a farm, Grace and her husband propagated mushrooms by utilizing agricultural wastes. What started from going around places to collect sawdust or hay, became a relationship of reciprocity with their neighbors. They were realizing their dream alongside providing an alternative livelihood and skill to the people around them. There were a lot of turmoil, sacrifices, and life changing decisionsโฆ but Grace is an epitome of optimism. A mother who plants dreams and a wife who waters aspirationsโฆ She nourishes purpose. Her light illuminates the path towards sustainability and food security. She truly is the light of La Vizcaina.
Cel comes home to her province and discovers a desolate room. It was small, dilapidated, and dark. Looking up at the ceiling, she saw a blink of hopeโฆ Looking at the walls, she saw a glimmer of ambition. She walks out of the room with a spark of Mushroom Creations. Although she had to come home because of a medical condition, Celโs homecoming is a renaissance of creative innovation. It is a wonder how a small room can produce a lot- sweets, chips and dips. Her creations will foster a fascination of flavor, an awe of taste. It is a wonder how this woman can do so much with just two hands. But that is Celโs prowess, an overflowing ingenious creation of flavors.
Enidaโs hands could feel the Earthโฆ every bit of soil is a sentiment of her childhood, and a relic of her parentโs lives. While living in a concrete jungle, she reminisces of that childhoodโฆ a time when there wasnโt enough and they could not afford a luxury of wants. But then she remembers that one mulberry tree which was their source of glee. They would pick the darkest fruits, squeeze it, add some water then drink to their delight. For Enida, it was the sweetest drink in the world. And then she felt that thirst of longing- for peace, for a simpler life. Her parents have worked hard so she does not till land anymore. And yet she yearned for that rooted bond with the land, for the ties with every bud of growth the earth fosters. So, she worked with all her sweat, blood and tears. With each mulberry Enida sows, she plants the seed of dreams for little Nic and Jas. With each green that grows she could only wish her roots of passion touches the lives of the next generation. With every step she makes as she goes around her farm, she could only wish she made her parents proud.
The stories of these women breeds the story of Gaia, the great mother of all creation; of Pachamama, a fertility goddess who presides over planting and harvesting; of Inang Kalikasan who transcends to the entirety of all natural resources; of all Mother Earth. Their stories convey the chords of all living creations. Their stories bear the intimate link of land and lifeโฆ as if it was the womb and child. Indeed, the Earth is a Woman.
