SENIOR BYAHERO
“How do we get to Laktas Falls?” I asked the lady manning the tourism desk at Barangay Ibona, Dingalan, Aurora. “You need to ride a Farmall, sir” she replied.
“What’s a Farmall?” I asked. “A tractor, sir. It will take you to the waterfalls” she said.
“Ah, you mean a kuliglig?” I asked. “Yes, sir. We call it Farmall here.”
Kuliglig is how city people call the farmer’s tractor mounted with trailer that carries people or cargo or both. The name was probably coined because of loud noise that the tractors make, like the loud chirping sound that the kuliglig or crickets make. To the farmers whose livelihood depend much on these tractors, the term pokes fun at their mode of transportation.
I learned that the term Farmall is an international brand of tractors. It was introduced at the early stage of farm mechanization into the country and became synonymous with modern farm transport. It became a symbol of farmers’ hardwork to save enough money to buy a tractor. Since then, all tractor brands like Kubota or Ford are simply called Farmall.
Barangay Ibona is located at the foot of the Sierra Madre mountains. It is blessed with many rivers that irrigate the fertile land planted with rice. Between the mountains and the rivers are several beautiful waterfalls, originally known only to locals but now have become the barangay’s famous tourist attractions. But access to these falls is not easy, there are no roads getting there, and the only way to reach these waterfalls is by trekking on rice paddies and then going on several river crossings.
Laktas Falls
Enter the farmers of Ibona and their Farmalls. They work on weekdays and they can take tourists to the waterfalls on weekends. The farmers organized themselves into a tour group, built touring trailers with roof, and got the necessary trainings, and soon the Farmall ride to the waterfalls was born.
The tour is well organized. The barangay has a tourism office complete with parking and showers. The lady explained that the Farmall can take visitors to two waterfalls, Laktas and Abungan. When I inquired which of the two does not require much trekking, she replied Laktas. Although the ride covers the two waterfalls, we decided to visit only Laktas. The Farmall ride is ₱1,200 round trip, good for eight people. We were a group of 15, so we rented two.
As soon as we paid, we were led to the area where the Farmalls were parked. They were all spotlessly clean that it was hard to believe that they are actually being used to transport farm materials. Our farmer-driver named Kuya Gio explained that we will be passing though rice fields, hills, and rivers, and that may be a chance to meet the original people of Dingalan, the Dumagats, along the way.
Rice field of Ibona
As soon as we boarded the Farmall, we were treated to a tour like no other we have taken before. We have never taken a tractor ride before, and as soon as we left the tourism office, we were treated to an amazing spectacle of green fields, blue skies and friendly farmers greeting us along the way. It took us more than 20 minutes of rice field drive before we descended to the river where the tractor showed how best it performs in its own territory: rolling though rocky paths, breezing through sandy beds and coasting through deep waters which no 4X4 SUVs would not dare do.
We arrived at Laktas Falls after about an hour after we left the tourism office. The falls was a perfect rest stop after the thrilling Farmall ride, with its beautiful crystal-clear waters in the middle of forest. But for me, the highlight of the tour was the Farmall ride, and the swim at the falls was just a bonus.
After the swim, I had a chance to talk to Kuya Gio, our farmer-driver. He explained to me how the people of Ibona got to call their tractors as Farmall. “It’s our all-around farm buddy,” he explained. I commented how green and healthy their rice fields were. “Would you like to have a short farm tour?” he asked. I said yes immediately. It was a chance for the young people in our group to see how rice is processed and milled.
Amazing farmall ride
On our way back, Kuya Gio gave us an impromptu farm tour. He introduced his brother to us who gave a brief lecture that planting rice is now mechanized, and is being harvested using a separator. They also showed us the machine that dries palay, and how rice is milled. They explained that the freshly-harvest rice grown by local farmers are the best tasting rice of all.
The impromptu farm tour was not part of the Laktas Falls tour, but I can see in the eyes of Kuya Gio and his bother how proud they are of what they do. Ferrying tourists on a Farmall to visit the waterfalls gives visitors a chance to appreciate the efforts being done by our farmers to put rice on our table. I will never call a tractor a kuliglig again, but as a Farmall whose owner drives it with pride.
(The author is a senior who recently retired from work as an engineer in an auto manufacturing company. He used to be a regular contributor to MB's Cruising Magazine. His taste for adventure has not kept him from travelling, usually via not-so-usual routes.)