ILOILO CITY – With no nearby markets and malls to cater for their daily sustenance, people living in mountainous areas of Lambunao, Iloilo have to depend on whatever resources available within their surroundings to survive at this time of pandemic.

“Imagine during the pandemic, while we’re on lockdown, we’re able to survive because we eat what is available in our surroundings. No malls, no markets, no supermarkets. We are 13 kilometers away from the town, 65 kilometers away from the city,” said Prof. Anthony Leal, project leader of the Traditional and Indigenized Recipes at West (TIRAW) in an interview.

TIRAW (taste) is a research-extension-instruction-based activity of the West Visayas State University-College of Agriculture and Forestry (WVSU-CAF) in Barangay Jayubo, Lambunao.

On Oct. 6 and 7, 15 students belonging to the indigenous peoples (IP) community from the municipality and their parents gathered to train on the preparation of indigenous food at the Mari-it Wildlife and Conservation Park, situated within WVSU’s 3,000-hectare campus.

Using only indigenous ingredients that can be found in the mountains, participants cooked “Kinilaw nga Sal-ang,” “Linabugan nga Amamakol/Sal-ang,” “Binukbok nga Balinghoy nga may Unog,” “Initlugan nga Sal-ang,” “Binanlag nga Banag,” “Tinu-om nga Mushroom,” and “Tinu-om nga Unog” among others.

Sal-ang and amamakol belong to the family of mushroom; unog is a small fish that looks like an anchovy but found under stones in creek; while banag is a snail that is also abundant in freshwater or creek.

“The recipes of their parents were transferred to them. They were taught how to cook,” he said.

The cooked items were infused with souring ingredients that are also available within the community. The menus are mixed with other ingredients that are raised the native way, hence they are labeled as indigenized.

The main ingredients used during the two-day training were sourced from the Tagbakan creek that can be found inside the conservation park.

“At this time, we should know already means to find our own food and they can be found in our surroundings. We need not rely on market and supermarkets,” Leal said.

TIRAW is now on its seventh year and coincides with the celebration of the IP Month this October, likewise the 69th founding anniversary of the university.

The proposal for TIRAW was submitted and approved by the university back in 2014 as part of Leal’s project in agricultural productivity organization. Leal said his students did a survey of available indigenous foods and were able to identify 13 in Lambunao.

Jennifer Osorio, municipal tourism officer of Lambunao, said the activity is a venue for IPs to promote their products.

“We can boost their confidence and sense of importance to the community,” she said. (PNA)