The village was at the bottom of a valley, and the slopes surrounding it were all rice terraces

Rice terraces in Batad — Shot in Batad, Philippines

The village of Batad is located at the bottom of a mortar, with terraced rice fields on the steep slopes surrounding it. This kind of situation is not uncommon in the mountain villages of Ifugao province in the northern Philippines.

With such a steep slope surrounding the village, it is difficult to go down the slope to visit the village or up the slope to the nearest bus stop. It's not easy to work in the paddy fields at the top. In the first place, I wondered how they would draw water to the paddy fields up there. One of the biggest problems is the lack of mechanization. In addition to being built on steep slopes, the paths between the rice fields are narrow. There is no way to get machines into the rice paddies. Therefore, rice planting, plowing, and harvesting are all done by hand in these terraced rice fields. It is said that this area is blessed with good weather, and if they wanted to, they could have two or three cropping seasons, but with everything being done by hand, I am not sure if they are fully enjoying the benefits.

Incidentally, the rice terraces of Batad are registered as a World Heritage Site.

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