Living in Luvimin, Kidapawan

A few weeks ago, I got to experience life in my mother’s hometown in Luvimin, Kidapawan City. It has been six years since I last visited the place. Well, Luvimin is a rural barangay some few kilometers from the city proper. The tricycle can take you there for around 15 minutes over a concrete road for the first 10 minutes and over a rough rocky terrain for next 5 minutes.

My grandmother’s humble home awaited us when we arrived. I was impressed with the vegetable and flower garden in front of the house. The air was chilly and refreshing too. It brought a wonderful feeling to me. And it is not everyday that I got to enjoy such feeling living in the city.

 

In the succeeding days, I got to explore more of the simple community. Farming is the main way of life of the people. Large expanse of tilled lands are scattered throughout the place. Most of these farms are devoted to rice.

If there is rice, there is corn to complement with it.

Durian trees…

Coconut trees…

Banana trees…

In the days to come, many of the farm lands would be converted to rubber plantations like most areas in Kidapawan.

And the livestock, too…

 

Another interesting aspect of the community is the private cemeteries. My grandmother has one, and it is located near her farm.

 

Just few meters away from the cemetery is my grandmother’s little shack where some animals and harvests are temporarily kept.

All roads in the barangay are unpaved. In the beginning, it was excruciating to walk on the rocky clay ground, and at times grassy and muddy. Many streets were also winding and inclined at an unbelievable slope. It is hard to imagine that kids walk on these roads everyday when going to their school some miles away.

The only fully concreted ground I saw was the barangay center. There was a large playing court there where the people also gather during important celebrations.

Undeniably, life is very basic in Luvimin. Food and time is not a problem, as the ground provides providence, and as people do not hurry things. For anyone who has lived in the city since time immemorial, the simple community provides a great dose of change and relaxation.

Photo of Kidapawan Map courtesy of Wikipedia.