ATOK, BENGUET – Farmers in this upland town just shrugged their shoulders when they heard the weather bureau’s recent advisory that the cold weather was expected to last until February.

To them, the Big Chill is nature’s wonder that they must learn to live with to survive.

Other than “andap” (frost) that could damage their vegetable farms, the farmers are not worried as they have learned to cope with the cold.

That’s why, said Marson Lay-at, a farmer and the town council’s agriculture committee chair, the 9.6 degrees Celsius temperature reading that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) recorded in Baguio City on Jan. 3 did not scare farmers.

But how do they keep themselves warm in freezing weather?

They use thick clothes and lip gloss. Houses here have their own fireplaces, too. Others resort to what the people in the city do – puff a cigarette or drink alcohol.

The best, according to Board Member Pacito Donato, is to drink coffee.

Lay-at said drinking is common among farmers after they retire from their day’s work as a means to relax and exchange stories.

Now that the weather is cold, drinking makes the farmers’ bodies warm, he said.

But farmers were advised to keep the fireplace burning instead of drinking or smoking.

Dr. Joseph Cabinta, chief of the Benguet General Hospital in La Trinidad town, said while drinking is a socially acceptable source of bonding, resorting to it often to keep the body warm could also be fatal.

“Farmers must protect themselves by avoiding health hazards like drinking too much or smoking often,” he said.

Cabinta said drinking and smoking, especially when they become vices, would generally weaken the body’s resistance to diseases.

“Drinking alcohol to keep the body warm would be then ill-advised,” he said.

He advised that thick clothing or layers of clothes be worn instead.

Donato, a farmer who represents the Association of Barangay Councils in the provincial board, said even his town mates in Barangay Balili in Mankayan town have learned to live with the cold weather.

He said the best way people in the village fight the biting weather is by drinking native coffee.

“Farmers would sip coffee until the sun rises. Coffee has become their source of strength and warmth,” he said.

He added that eating boiled camote (sweet potato) is another source of warmth because the root crop is known to be rich in energy and carbohydrates.