A Village Transformed

Steve Bradbury

Discussions and debates about lifestyle only have relevance for those of us in a position to exercise choice. They are one of the many perks of wealth.

Lifestyle options for the poor – that’s almost an oxymoron. Poverty means few or no options. Where we live, what we eat, what we learn, what we can realistically hope for – if we are poor all these are oppressively constrained.

Among other things, community development is about widening the range of options available to the poor by providing access to new resources and new ideas. Thus new possibilities emerge.

In the mountains of Mindanao, the large southern island of the Philippines, I met a community of people who are experiencing a dramatic transformation in lifestyle. Cauyunan is a small village beyond the reach of road or electricity. Built on a small plateau high above the river where it catches the cooling winds, it seems an idyllic place. But it has not always been so. The people of Cauyunan are of the Higuanon tribe. Traditionally they are slash and burn agriculturalists with a sideline in gold prospecting. Their religion was one of spirit worship, and they learned the will of the spirits through specially selected mediums known as baylans. Far from being the sort of idyllic pre-modern society romanticised by some, life in the village was extremely hard and oppressive. For example, ten years ago nearly 50% of the children were dying before they reached the age of 5 because sanitation was poor and easy-to-treat diseases misunderstood. The death of mothers during child birth was also very common.

The health advice given by the spirit mediums was often wrong advice. Indeed it was often the exact opposite to what was needed. Parents, for example, were instructed to keep a baby with a high fever as warm as possible. Smothered in extra layers of clothes and blankets these babies nearly always perished.

Today the village boasts an excellent health clinic which has been built from the timber of the tree at which animal sacrifices used to be made to the spirits. The dire predictions that all hell would break loose if the tree was destroyed have been proven wrong.

Each day a small team of newly trained health workers dispense sound medical advice and basic medicines. It is the only fully self-sufficient community health program I have ever seen, an achievement made possible because the staff give their time voluntarily as part of their commitment to the church. Other church members donate their time and skills to the community and the church in different ways. Diguy, one of the church elders, has completed a short course at the Southern Baptist Agricultural College in Davao. Now he is passing on his new knowledge to the other farmers.

I was particularly interested in the contour planting being adopted by many of the farmers. The land is divided into contour strips, ideally no more than 4 meters wide, separated by hedgerows of two legumes – flaminga and ransone. Once the hedges have reached shoulder height they are cut back to waist height, and the cuttings spread over the fields. This is repeated every 4-6 weeks.

This process dramatically reduces soil erosion and water pollution, as well as improving soil quality. It pumps a lot of nitrogen into the soil and enriches it through natural composting. Where this type of farming has been occurring for a few years or more the soil becomes so friable that it no longer requires ploughing, and so rich it requires no fertilisers. Singapore and Bining, two of the farmers I visited, had already successfully experimented with not using artificial fertilisers on one of their plots. The more they are able to do this the lower their production costs will be.

The main crops being grown at present are mung beans, corn, upland rice and ground nuts. In addition several of the farmers were about to begin the planting of orchard trees (mango, cashew nut, coconut) within the hedges. This would provide them with a valuable cash crop. TEAR’s funding of agricultural training for Diguy and others has already proved to be a remarkably good investment. So has our investment in Cauyunan ‘s corn mill which was operating around the clock on the days I was there. People now have more food than ever before, and they are quick to give God the praise when they meet for worship on a Sunday morning.

The fact is 95% of people in the village have joined the ranks of the Naluwas (Higaonan for “saved ones”). The church in Cauyunan, like all the development projects, is very much under local leadership, and flourishing. What is more it showed no signs of being a cultural transplant from the USA or anywhere else. In the short history of the church the people have written over 200 of their own hymns. They appear not to have heard of Hillsong!

The lifestyle of the Naluwas and their neighbours remains simple, and their choices are still limited. But it’s now a long time since any baby or infant died in the village, or a mother failed to survive giving birth to a new child. A transformation with deep spiritual roots is taking place, and a new economy is being built. Perhaps this is why the Naluwas are so quick to express their joy.

Explanatory Note. The catalysts for the transformation occurring in Cauyuan are a young Australian couple working for New Tribes Mission, Paul and Debbie Howells. TEAR considers it a great privilege to be associated with their work and channels funds from their Australian friends which have been earmarked for development projects.

Please Pray Give thanks for the wonderful spiritual and material transformation that is occurring in Cauyunan and several of the surrounding communities. Pray for Paul and Debbie and the village leaders as they try to serve the community with wisdom and grace. Pray for the continued success of the health, agricultural and corn mill programs.