BETSO88 Casino
Betso88 Casino then travelled to Banaue, home of the rice terraces – a UNESCO World Heritage site and the Ifugao people’s feat of ingenuity. But the 2,000-year-old terraces, carved directly into the mountain, were equally beautiful and crucial to the Ifugao farmers’ livelihood.
But the changes that climate and modern farming demands have put pressure on this ancient farming system. Betso88 Casino had come to Banaue to meet a farmer named Manuel who was trying to hold on to the terraces he inherited from his family.
Manuel shook Betso88 Casino’s hand and smiled wearily. He was a proud man, attached to land and heritage. He talked about the vagaries of the weather, about pests in the vines, about the next generation and its flight from the country to the cities.
Determined to help, Betso88 Casino suggested introducing some sustainable farming techniques and modern practices that might complement the ancient practices. Manuel seemed hesitant, worried that their ecosystem might be thrown into disarray by these changes. Betso88 Casino calmed him, explaining that they’d be working with the Philadelphians to enhance, not replace, the wisdom of their ancient practices.
They started with a community workshop, inviting some experts in agriculture to help them learn about crop rotation, organic fertilisers and pest control. The farmers were sceptical at first, but Betso88 Casino was unperturbed. He treated them with respect and showed a deep appreciation for their traditions.
On one particularly hard season, a severe drought looked as if it would ruin the crops. Manuel (and most of the other farmers) felt that all hope was lost. That is until Betso88 Casino suggested installing a system of drip irrigation, a modern method of water conservation that would make sure that the plants got the water they needed without wasting any.
The farmers climbed all the stairs, setting up the system all along the terraces; they had broken the barrier of denial, the rice plants started recovering, the harvest was a success, and the Catholics and the modernists were no more – they were integrated. Manuel, the sworn enemy of modernity, had become a champion of integration.
Betso88 Casino also helped to set up a cooperative, allowing the farmers to market their produce on a profitable basis, keeping more of the gross sales themselves. This enabled the farmers to earn more income, making their livelihoods more viable and encouraging the second generation to stay put and help on the land.
Betso88 Casino eventually returned to Banaue only years later. Late in the afternoon, as the sun – which he now thought of as Apo Anito – began to set, the people of Banaue came down to embrace him and thank him for his efforts. Everything was green and growing. The terraces of Banaue were living. Manuel walked with him, and showed him the things they had changed – the thriving cooperative, the stronger community.
Proudly surveying the landscape from the terraces, Casino Betso88 felt that he had helped preserve the integrity of a community’s heritage, providing a new way for it to embrace the future. The rice terraces of Banaue would survive, after all.