Ifugao Center for Living Culture

Revitalizing culture through learning, teaching and living.

Indigenous culture continues to be swept away by the modern world, and forgotten by many. But in the northern Philippines, tribes from the Cordillera mountain region continue to live in a mix of modern and traditional styles that reflect the struggle of the digital and the analog, the new and the old worlds. The Ifugao tribe is one of the Indigenous groups in the region who evaded the identity erasure caused by Spanish colonization, and have therefore maintained many aspects of their culture. Although it is now under the influence of the nation-wide impulses, such as religion, imperialism and modernity, there still exist cultural foundations that speak of simpler times. Chief among the identifying features of the region are its rice terraces. Paired with rituals performed by the few elders who maintain pre-Christian traditions, the terraces produce native species of rice to sustain their communities. At the Ifugao Center for Living Culture, we are striving to live, learn and teach a rich array of traditions that are ecologically and spiritually harmonious with the earth. We live simply, teach through experiencing, and connect purposefully. We share our culture with people around the world, including other Indigenous peoples, so that we may maintain the connection with our ancestors and the earth we live in.

Our vision is to revitalize the culture and traditions of the Ifugao region in the Northern Philippines. We are living simply and in harmony with our environment with the knowledge and experience of our elders. We’re working to preserve indigenous knowledge of agriculture, spirituality, and ancestral connection.