He’s a kaingin farmer from our town where I came from, Surigao. He’d seen me grow up to my high school years. I met him and his family when I dropped by to take pictures of a newly converted kaingin farm. Charred remains of trees are still around when I took the picture, they were planting camote tops and chili around the area.
Kaingin farming, to those who do not know is the method of burning portions of lands in the forest to convert it to farmland. For decades, with the increase of the population, vast rain forest areas were destroyed to make way for farming.
Lanuza Pictures by Kage
