How about drinking a cup of tsokolate batirol (hot native chocolate) sprinkled with duman (native cereal) while watching the sunset by your happy lonesome, or in the company of family and friends?
This simple joy in a rural landscape is real at the EcoPark in Sta. Rita, Pampanga, where residents can enjoy arroz caldo (porridge), sopas (soup) and rice cakes every morning.
Originally called by locals as gasak (farms) from Barangay San Jose to Barangay San Isidro, the EcoPark stretches 3 kilometers on top and on the slopes of the FVR Megadike, a
U-shaped structure that traps lahar or volcanic sediments washed down by rains from Mt. Pinatubo.
Sitting on concrete benches gives a reveler a view not only of the sunset but also of the Pasig-Potrero River. Site of a lingering disaster that caused the displacement of the Kapampangan people and altered the landscape of Central Luzon, sections of the river have turned into patches of green.
Typical of Filipinos’ adaptability, residents have converted the dike into a jogging lane, a walking path and a picnic ground complete with an open-air theater.
The Duman Festival, revived 14 years ago by artists and community leaders, gave birth to the EcoPark, said Andy Alviz, founder of the theater group ArtiSta.Rita and one of the event organizers.
“We transferred the Duman Festival from the Sta. Rita Church patio to this part of the dike in 2012 because it is a scene straight out of a Fernando Amorsolo painting,” Alviz said.
Stress-free zone
As early as 2010, Mayor Yolanda Pineda led a series of tree-planting activities to control dust. These days, residents seek the shade of narra trees for their afternoon naps. Soon, somebody posted a placard that announced: “This is a stress-free zone.”
Fishponds at the toes of the dike are calming sights while grasses on the slopes are regularly trimmed.
Villagers claimed their spaces, turning pockets of parks within EcoPark. Members of Rosas, the local gay community, displayed a large mermaid while other groups used the park to promote recycling, turning discarded toilets, tubs and water tanks into plant boxes.
Another group put used rubber tires side-by-side, making these into a canvass for the image of Sta. Rita of Casia.
“With many people cooperating, like when we make grains into duman, the EcoPark is turning out to be a tourist destination,” Pineda said.
Playing on the word, she said: “Duman-as tamung kasakitan, duman-as tamu namang kanawan (We have suffered hardships. We are also going to experience a better life).”
She said the council passed a resolution setting aside funds for the annual staging of the Duman Festival.
Costly
But duman, as an artisanal food, has turned costly.
Veronica Valencia-Salazar, 80, sold the local cereal for P3,500 per pati, a wooden box equivalent to 2.25 kg, during the Dec. 5 festival that drew 20,000 people. That was P1,000 higher than the grains’ price in 2012.
“Lakatan (glutinous rice) is costly and scarce and it takes a minimum of seven workers to pound the grains and finish the work in a week,” Salazar said.
Farmers in the villages of Becuran, Dila-Dila, San Basilio, San Agustin and Sta. Monica persist in planting the specialty rice using small irrigation dikes built through funds from former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Planted in May, the sticky variety sprouts its grains before the amyam (amihan or northwest monsoon).
Aside from the musicale performed by ArtiSta.Rita, the festival was a gastronomic feast as well. At least 50 stalls sold native food and other delicacies.