The Ambes Family
Mrs. Ambes is a typical Benguet lady from the Kankanaey tribe
of Kibungan in northern Benguet. She has settled with Eduardo, a
farmer in Monglo, Sablan. Agustina, 34 years old, and Eduardo,
48 years old, have five children with ages 14, 12, 11, 4, and 1. Agustina completed secondary education. The Ambes household
possesses the Cordillerans’ characteristics of patience,
endurance, and simple living. Their abode is located 26
kilometers southwest of Baguio City. It cannot be reached by
public utility vehicles or by car because such can only be
driven up to the crossroad. To reach the field and home, one has
to hike down from the road through a mountain slope on soil
walkways with grasses and trees for 15-20 minutes. During the
rainy season, the road is very slippery. This is the same path
children have to walk through i
n order to go to their school.
With this inconvenience, the couple have to schedule their trip
to the city only when extremely necessary. This explains why
most people do not prefer to locate their residence in the area.
Considering that the place is very remote and that houses are located very far apart, the Ambes family seems to live in solitude. This works favorably for the family members as they have ample time to devote to their livelihood.
