Living on a duck egg embryo's tale
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| A duck egg's embryo called "balut" |
Wearing her usual black sweater and a bull cap, Aling Inday, a native of
Leyte province, would slowly position her cart on the sidewalk, close to the terminal
of tricycles and jeepneys, where hungry drivers would usually buy “balut” to
energize themselves from a hard day’s drudgery.
Not far from her favorite spot is the police substation, where she could
always run to file a complaint if anybody bothers her. She eases herself down
on a stool to wait for customers; lights her small kerosene lamp to provide a
little illumination enough to distinguish the money that changed hands between
her and the customers. This activity goes all the way until the egg contents of
the basket have been sold out. Then she goes home at past midnight, counts her
night’s earnings and lay down on the couch, which serves as her temporary bed.
Home is a small wooden shack that stands along the edge of the Pateros River.
Pateros River empties into the Pasig River, a major water tributary in
Metro Manila that was envisioned to become an alternative route for public
commuters in Metro Manila, with the Metro Manila Development Authority as the
lead agency to manage the program. Water ferries had to ply the route between
Guadalupe in Makati City to Escolta, Manila, where passengers can take off, and
vice versa. After a couple of years into the program, Pateros River had dried
up for reasons unknown to many. It didn’t only cut the livelihood of the people
living along the river but also killed the “balut” industry where a lot of
people have to depend on for their livelihood.
I had been a witness as I lived only across the river in the village of
Comembo, a part of Makati City on the other side. A concrete bridge separated
the town of Pateros from Comembo. Across the river each morning, I could see
how duck raisers on the other side would tend to their flocks of brown ducks to
forage for shells on the river. But everything went to standstill when water
stopped flowing into the tributary.
Per my recollection, Aling Inday, a neighbor of ours, gets up at dawn to
rush up to a nearby wholesaler located across the bridge that connects the
village of Comembo, Makati City to the town of Pateros, then a popular hub for
this exotic egg embryo where thousands of vendors from across Metro Manila
would congregate in order to get their orders in the soonest possible time on a
“first come, first served basis.” Whoever comes the earliest would be first on
the line, a dictum that has persisted for so many decades.
Over many decades, this economic scenario has been portrayed as a
surreal depiction of what the “balut” industry did to at least provides
livelihood to some hopeless but industrious people who try to make a living
under the dog-eat-dog completion.
Nobody would ever thought that the Pateros River, which has become a
haven for thousands, if not millions, of mallard ducks which labeled the small
town of Pateros as the “egg embryo” capital of the Philippines since the
pre-war years.
"Balut" vendors would slowly descend most of Metro Manila city street
pavements to peddle their goods thus transforming empty corners into a hectic frenzy, but also allowing them these enterprising mortals to survive in the midst of the dog-eat-dog competition.
Lit by a kerosene lamp beside her basketful of balut eggs, the female
vendor sits, huggling her knees to her breast to at least to warm her body from the night's cold breeze created by
the monsoon season and oblivious of the risks that might occur as she awaits
for customers.
From time to time, passers-by, some drunks and some are ordinary workers
who just wanted to add more energy to their tired bodies, do drop by to buy
one, two or three pieces, depending on how much cash they have in their
pockets.
The vendor looks up with a welcome smile and readily unfurls the thick,
white cloth that is used to cover the eggs and to preserve the heat inside the
basket. Then she carefully picks the egg that is good for the unsuspecting
customer, who makes sure that it contains more yolk , aside from the chick
embryo inside its shell. After the
customer pays for a piece of egg, he immediately breaks its shell and sips its
warm, salty liquid that could provide more nourishment to the body.
As always, this is the case. But
more than this, selling of "balut" egg (a duck's embryo) has become a
source of livelihood for the unschooled and for those who merely wanted to earn
extra income. Everyday is a drudgery, from dusk till dawn, generating an income
that is barely enough to buy them food.
Although, Westerners look at it as a spoiled delicacy never seen
elsewhere in the world. But
"balut" or embryonated duck's egg is a favorite food of average
income Filipinos, whose penchant for this exotic delicacy have not slackened in
years. But mind you, professionals are slowly smitten by this delicacy,
too.
In fact, the balut industry has contributed a lot to enhancing the
country's "livestock revolution", a program that is expected to bring
brighter prospects for
the poor.
In the Philippines, for more than two decades since the 80s, poultry
contributions to agriculture and per capita
utilization has been steadily growing.
The duck industry, for one, has been a great contributor. In fact, volume of production of duck eggs
in 2001 was up again 0.84 percent, compared to its
2000 figures. But demands will continue to grow, particularly in the
developing countries.
This, according to development analyst, is a livestock revolution that
holds promise for relieving widespread micronutrient and protein malnutrition
while
intensifying smallhold agriculture, the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST) reported.
From 1991 to 2000, for instance, volume of duck eggs grew from 33,456 to
53,631 tons during the same period. As
duck raising is a lucrative business in the Philippines, it has therefore been
an important source of income to the farmers, especially those living near
bodies of water. Ducks are usually
raised for their eggs, which are made into "balut" (embryonated 16 to
18-day-old eggs) or salted eggs.
It added that a 1000-head layer duck production module is capable of
generating a return-on-investment (ROI) of 20 percent and 47 percent for the
first and second year, respectively.
Besides bringing in the needed nutrition and cash to resource poor
farmers and enterprising businessmen, the "powerful duck" also help
rid ricefields of the
eggs of golden apple snail, a pest that is causing damage to the ricefields.
Ducks also feed on the snails, which serve as intermediate host for
larval stages of the parasite causing fasciolosis to buffaloes, cattle, and
goats.
By allowing 4 to 5-month-old ducks to graze on rice 35-40 days after
planting, at a stocking rate of 800-1000 ducks per hectare, farmers not only
eliminate the proliferation of unwanted snails but also minimize weed formation.
As ducks trample and feed on them, savings on weeding are realized while
taking advantage of rice leftovers after harvest. And with their fecal droppings all over the
field, soil fertility is improved.
In some Asian countries and in some swine farms in the country, ducks
are also used to aerate stagnant water in lagoons and canals where waste
materials flow. By allowing the ducks
to wade in them, the stagnant water is disturbed, allowing oxygen to penetrate
and dissolve.
Considering that the country has the needed breeds to make a profitable
enterprise, the duck industry therefore has enough chance to make the livestock
revolution work for the poor.
The Philippine Mallard duck or "itik" and the Muscovy duck or
"bibe" are popular breeds raised for egg and meat, respectively. The
country earlier produced
the Laguna duck, another meat-type duck produced from a three-way cross
among the Peking drake, the Philippine Mallard and the Muscovy drake, a similar
breed to the Taiwan mule duck. It has
an average feed efficiency of 3.20 and offers better quality meat.
Furthermore, the duck industry has a competitive advantage over other
poultry industries. Ducks require little attention and thrive well on almost
all kinds
of environmental conditions.
They are also highly resistant against common avian diseases. Unlike chicken, they have a longer life
span.
It is easy to see that indeed the duck is a powerful and versatile
animal, potent enough to be relied upon to sustain its role in the livestock
revolution, the DOST said.
After so many years of economic upheavals, due to close competition from
other balut (duck egg) producers, the industry went into a limbo. The former
town of Pateros (now a city in Metro Manila) used to be the beehive of the duck
egg-producing industry in the Philippines until its unexpected demise after
Martial Law.
The military regime had nothing to do with it. From where I lived across
the Pateros River in Comembo, Makati City in the 70s, I could clearly see how
the ducks’ owners herded and fed them early in the morning on a patch of land
on the side of the river where they’re normally housed. Each morning, they’re
let loose to feed and allowed to cleanse themselves on the river for a couple
of hours.
Under the current regime, where thousands had been killed for selling illegal drugs, selling "balut" eggs would be a better option to fight poverty. But that could only be realized if the government would provide a little capital for these impoverished lot, many of them had been hauled off to the police stations on a recent crackdowns for being branded as "istambays".
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