Inspiré par Harold Conklin: recherche sur les agriculteurs ifugao dans les montagnes de la Sierra Madre (nord-est de Luzon, Philippines): research on Ifugao farmers in the Sierra Madre Mountains (northeastern Luzon, Philippines)

Persoon, G.A.; Ploeg J. van der; Weerd, M. van

doi:doi:10.4000/ethnoecologie.8059

Harold C. Conklin (1926-2016) is without doubt one of the key figures in ethnobotany and
environmental anthropology. His work is admired for, among other qualities, its precision and its
level of « fine description ». In particular, his pioneering studies on shifting cultivation have
changed the general perspective on this way of land use. His Ethnographic Atlas of Ifugao (1980) is
still a landmark of ethnographic fieldwork, combining a wide range of methods, including
sophisticated cartography.
The focus of this atlas was on the culture of Ifugao farmers in their home area in the Cordillera
Mountains on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. In recent decades, thousands of Ifugao
farmers have left their home area and migrated eastwards to the Sierra Madre Mountains in the
northeastern part of Luzon, across Cagayan Valley. They have done so for various reasons but
land shortage is certainly one of them. In the foothills of the Sierra Madre,...Show moreHarold C. Conklin (1926-2016) is without doubt one of the key figures in ethnobotany and
environmental anthropology. His work is admired for, among other qualities, its precision and its
level of « fine description ». In particular, his pioneering studies on shifting cultivation have
changed the general perspective on this way of land use. His Ethnographic Atlas of Ifugao (1980) is
still a landmark of ethnographic fieldwork, combining a wide range of methods, including
sophisticated cartography.
The focus of this atlas was on the culture of Ifugao farmers in their home area in the Cordillera
Mountains on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. In recent decades, thousands of Ifugao
farmers have left their home area and migrated eastwards to the Sierra Madre Mountains in the
northeastern part of Luzon, across Cagayan Valley. They have done so for various reasons but
land shortage is certainly one of them. In the foothills of the Sierra Madre, accessible arable land
became available after large-scale commercial logging operations.
In this article we will draw attention to the relevance of Conklin’s work before describing how
the Ifugao farmers, with their extensive knowledge and experience, have been able to turn this
new area into a highly productive environment, combining wet rice fields with upland
agriculture. The research is based on fieldwork that was done over several years with Filipino,
Dutch and other international students in the context of a long-standing cooperation project
between Isabela State University in the Philippines and Leiden University (Netherlands).
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Inspiré par Harold Conklin: recherche sur les agriculteurs ifugao dans les montagnes de la Sierra Madre (nord-est de Luzon, Philippines) research on Ifugao farmers in the Sierra Madre Mountains (northeastern Luzon, Philippines)