Davao's harvests
By Carlos Isagani Zarate
Inquirer News Service

DESPITE THE not-so-smart pullout of a telecom giant from major sponsorship, last week's Kadayawan Festival in Davao City still proved to be successful or "bongacious," as the lead organizer described it. Dubbed as the "Festival of all festivals" in Mindanao, the weeklong event, capped by a colorful floral float parade yesterday, showcased not only the city's bountiful harvests of fruits and flora, but also the rich culture and tradition of Mindanao's peoples -- the lumad, Moro and Christians.

Notwithstanding the security concerns raised by some quarters, the city teemed with local and foreign tourists competing to savor the southern hospitality that only the "City of Durian" offers. Aside from the sounds of gongs, kulintangs and other indigenous musical instruments and the scents of fresh flowers like waling-waling and the mouth-watering durian, there were other revelations in last week's Kadayawan celebration. Among them, the city's budding short-film industry.

Five skillfully created productions by talented and rising Davaoeño filmmakers were entered for Kadayawan's "Puting Tabil Short Film Festival." The films tackled themes like the complex relationship among friends ("24 Hours," by Camboy Productions, formed by students from the Philippine Women's College School of Fine Arts and Culture); the dilemna of a "feel-good elitista" ("Hulagway" by AdDunay Productions, formed by students from the Ateneo de Davao University); the celebration of a "family's triumph over life's infinite trials" ("Lata," by Gruppo SaliDavao and gatchi&gatchi productions); people with diverse cultures confronted by the triad of love, faith and betrayal ("Sangan-daan," by PLUM Productions, formed by students from the University of Mindanao); and the gripping travails of a mother pushed into insanity by the destructive lifestyles of her seven children, whose fathers are of different nationalities ("Tandog sa Baryo Sanghay" by Phat J Productions).

During the August 18 Awards Night, "Tandog sa Baryo Sanghay," written and directed by GMA Davao news reporter John Paul Seniel, emerged as a runaway winner, bagging the awards for best picture, best director, best screenplay and best actress, among others. Seniel, whose debut work "Torture" grabbed major awards in the 2003 Davao Guerilla Filmmaking, is also the director of the 2004 opus "Amuma, Hands for Nobody," now an official entry to the 2005 New York International Independent Film and Video Film Festival slated in November this year.

One can readily admire the remarkable skills, depth and talents shown by the people behind these indie short films. In this sense, all the five films are winners in their own respective right.

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In the past, especially during the celebration of the Kadayawan Festival, it was not uncommon to see piles and piles of durian husks in places where these fruits were sold or processed into candies. Sunstar Davao reported that during peak season, garbage collectors collect up to 10 truckloads of durian husks every night. To many durian eaters, the thorny durian husks are useless. That "uselessness" may now be a thing of the past.

Last week, while scouting for souvenirs to be given to the speakers of our Kadayawan IBP continuing legal education seminar, lawyer Chin-Chin Barrios-Talaver stumbled on a durian-smelling paper lampshade at the Mindanao Trade Expo in the Central Bank Convention Center. If there is a durian-flavored ice-cream, why not a durian-smelling paper, she wondered. But, no, the paper lampshade and other paper products that she saw were not just laced with durian; they were, in fact, made out of durian fibers.

The durian fiber-made products were launched only August 10 by the Kababayen-an alang sa Teknolohiya nga Haum sa Kinaiyahan ug Kauswagan (Katakus or Women for the technology that is appropriate for the environment and development). Katakus is an NGO that focuses on the promotion of "sustainable agriculture through integrated systems of organic agricultural production and use of technology among subsistence farmers" in the Davao region.
"Maraming fiber ang durian; ang ibang materials konti lang-ang cogon mga 20 percent lang ang ma-extract na fiber. Sa durian, mga 75 percent," Betty More, of Katakus, told journalist Stella Estremera of Sunstar Davao. She said that fibers extracted from durian can be stored for a longer time compared to those from other indigenous materials, thus, giving women reserved materials when durian is not in season. While they still use fibers extracted from cogon, bananas and abaca, she admitted that they found in durian an additional and cheaper yet bigger source of raw material.

Katakus' products, although still in small quantity, are now exported to other countries.

So, for durian lovers, the next time you eat durian, don't just throw its husks away. Think of them as another dollar earner.

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Multi-awarded fictionists Dr. Macario Tiu and poet Don Pagusara, both literature professors of the Ateneo de Davao University, once again bagged the country's most coveted awards in literature: the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards. Tiu's "Balyan," a tale about a lumad shaman, won first prize in the Cebuano short story category; Pagusara's "Mga Landas ng Pangarap," a story about an FQS activist, won first prize in the Pilipino category. "Bangka sa Kinabuhi," which tells the life of Moro women in the Liguasan Marsh and also written by Pagusara, won second prize in the Cebuano short story category.

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