My Mother, Estrella Carvajal Bernal, a Dressmaker & Gardener

Chapter 7 – My Mother, Estrella Carvajal Bernal, a Dressmaker& Gardener...

My mother, Estrella Carvajal Bernal was only 17 years old when I was born. She was left by my father when she was a few months pregnant of me. My father went for training in the army. I was told, that in Asia there were rumours of war between the United States and Japan. The United States have already entered the war in Europe against the Germans and Italians.

My mother, whom, I call Inday, was an industrious and creative woman. She finished only Grade IV of formal schooling. But she learned lots of skills from my grandmother and other relatives who taught her various skill, including sewing dresses. Dressmaking became my mother’s first vocation. It was her major way to earn a living. Women and girls in the village of Dayhagan, Pilar and Cawayan, Carles and other nearby villages come to her and have their new dresses made or old dresses remodelled.

During special occasions - school graduations, Christmas Seasons and fiestas my mother was always busy. She saw dresses for women and girls from morning until late in the nights. She woke up early in the mornings to saw dresses again. We helped in whatever we can All of us 9 children call our mother “Inday”, just like an older sister. Only our youngest brother, Rex, calls our mother “Nanay” (mother).

Life was hard in our village. All of us were trained to work and helped the family. I and my younger brother, Restituto Jr., were trained to care - feed, graze and water our 3 carabaos daily. We water them at noon and late afternoon. The carabaos were our help in the farm. But life was a little better for us. My mother was a member of the Seventh Day Adventist church, when I was very young. She brought me to Sabbath School every Saturday for study and worship. My grandmother, who’s a Baptist, brought me to Sunday School every Sunday morning. Our father who is a Catholic, later joined the Baptist faith. My father do not gamble, and later ends his drinking and smoking habit. It was a decision he made to make life a bit better for us.

I think, one of the reasons for the very hard life of many people in the village were vices –drinking wine, gambling, card playing and smoking. The daily cost of this seemingly little vices, get much of the income of the family that could have spent for food and other family needs.

Early in life, I learned the positive effect of faith and Chistian values in life. The leaders of both the Baptist and Seventh Day Adventist church in the villages were also cousins. Their spiritual and moral values were quite high. And except for the some foods – the Adventists were taught not to eat pork, fiwithout scales, crabs and shrimps. The Baptists eat all kinds of food stuffs, but eating creatively and in moderation. The life’s values of Adventists and Baptists were quite the same. And they have little vices in life. This was made possible with the education we have in the church. Baptists and Adventists, have to undergo doctrinal studies for several days about their faith, before they were Baptist to be Christians. Many children baptized, do not know their faith. I heard the joke many Catholics in the Philippines has gone to church only three times their whole life - on baptism, marriage and funeral. This is a joke. But when we saw the rampant vices, crimes, drugs and corruptions, mostly by most Catholics, there's something wrong, perhaps of the teachings. And President Rodrigo Duterte may be right for having quite a very low regards for many Catholic Bishops and Priests.

When I was 5 years old, my father and mother were able to buy about 3 hectares of farmland in Cawayan, Carles. They bought the land from my father’s cousin who decided to transfer to Capiz province and ventured in fishpond as their livelihood. I heard he made good in his fishpond ventures. My father was able to buy the land from his Back Pay as a soldier in the Philippine Army. I heard the cost of the 3 hectares land was Three Hundred Fifty Pesos (P350.00) in 1948. The equivalent of P350 (Philippine money) that time was USDollar 175. That year, the dollar exchange was USD 1.00 equals Ph 2.00. This year 2017, a USDollar 1.00 is PHP 52.00. What a difference. What really happened? Was this a little part of what was called, the power of US imperialism? Applied by the US financial power against Asian countries, like the Philippines?

During some months, when women and girls do not usually buy new dresses, mother works mostly in her garden. All my bigger sisters helped mother in the gardens. Father works in the rice farm during the day. And he went fishing during the nights. Years later, when he learned carpentry, he farms and worked as a carpenter. He left fishing. Mother helped the family earn some income from gardening. Gardening was mother’s second love. Our house' surroundings were full of different flowering plants. She grows different flowers and maintained this even during dry seasons. Mother’s flower gardens were always blooming with roses, daisies, pointsetias, gumamellas, vogainvillas and other flowers. She gave my younger sisters small pails to help water her plants.

What did we do to have quite abundant water for home use? When I was Grade IV, about 10 years old, my father decided to dig a deep well. With a young man as helper, they dug a deep well that reached 24 feet deep, working several weeks. But there was no water. A twenty- four feet well was already deep. But still no water. But father said, he will continue digging.. At 26 feet deep there was still no water. But there was something that made the soil a bit wet. He thought with little depth more, their would be water. So they kept on digging the hard rock. There were days that they could only dig about one forth (1/4) foot deep. But they continued digging.

Then, at about 26 feet, there was a small water that comes from the solid rock down. They worked harder. The rock, we called “dalipe”, a very hard rock, which was called in our place “buhi nga bato” or a “living rock”. Then, to their great joy, the “living rock” slowly cracked. And a very clear and fresh water came out slowly. It was slow water coming out, but water was now within reach. And after digging for another half foot, at about 27 feet, water was coming out.

After long, hard and patient digging, we got clear and clean water, at 27 feet deep. It was only 4 meters away from our kitchen. We have now water for all our needs. We do not have to carry water from a well, a kilometers away during dry season. We are fortunate. Some families in Dayhagan, Pilar dug deep wells, 35 feet deep. But no water came out. They have water during rainy season. But on dry seasons, their well 35- feet deep were dry. We thanked God for the blessing of fresh water. The gardening of my mother was now more easier.

My mother said she was always happy when she looked at her flower gardens. The flowers were for her eyes only. She shared some to friends. But on some occasions, in June during weddings, many church decorators buy flowers from my mother to decorate the church. Also on February 13, many young people visit our home to buy mother’s roses and other flowers.

But she earns year- round from her vegetable gardens. She plants pechay, string beans, mustards, alogbate, eggplants year round. After harvesting the vegetable, a new vegetable was immediately planted. My sisters helped water and pulling weeds. Mother practices organic farming during those times. She kept the carabao and goat manures, all the garbage, the leaves, ashes in our stoves, daily store it in a corner, under a tree and kept it there for months. She also bring some seaweeds, gathered from the shore to her composts. When this materials were fully decompost, she spread on the gardens. She told us this will make the vegetable grow well, fast and resistant to diseases.

She brought sewage from the seashores and hang it on branches of fruit trees - jackfruits, papaya, mango to drive away some insects and flies.

Daily, our neighbors comes to buy vegetables from mother. Also, wives of fishermen comes exchanging some of their fish with our mother’s vegetables. Other women came with fish, lobsters, shrimps and small crabs and barters these with mother’s vegetables. Although my parents have little cash, life was quite easier for us . Barter was technic of her business,

For continuous source of a little cash, mother planted “buyo”. This were plants that climb the bamboo poll. And the leaves are used by old women for chewing, “mama”. Together with other ingredients – tobacco, lime, beatle nuts and “buyo”, they chew this ingredients mostly after meals, making it also as a social sharing among women. Their saliva becomes red. And they do this, mostly 3 times a day, morning, noon and evening. They come to the house weekly, to buy “buyo” and buy other ingredients for their “mama” from other nieghbors. I learned later, the chewing game mostly of older, women, was the reason why, most of them have very good and strong teeth until they die.

To earn other additional income, my mother reserve two rooms in our house for public school teachers to use as lodging room. They just cooked their food. Two teachers often stayed in a room. Only female teachers were boarding in our house.

My parents earn little income. But with 11 of us all in the family to feed, dressed and send to school, it was not easy for our parents. They challenge us, they whisper to us to get an education. My mother did not encouraged my sisters to go dancing during their youths. But challenged us to get education. We made it to elementary. But to get education in high school was very hard. And college education was much harder. We need to find ways to get college education. They pushed us a little hard. Challenging us to go, if possible and study as working students. Getting education was a way for us to have a little easier life for the future.

I think, some of our family’s values, were influenced by the Baptist Pastors and Bapitst leaders that often visited our home. I could remember those who came when I was still very young, and those who when I was still younger. For many Baptist Pastors has slept in our house and they for a little time talked with us and shared thoughts with us. I remembered Dr, Agustin Masa from Capiz Evangelical Church and Filamer Christian College, Rev. Ralph George, Rev. James Long, Dr. Joseph Howard, Rev. Leo Penacerada, Miss Carmelina Catedral, Pastor Angelina Cadiao, Rev Edwin Lopez, Rev. Penuelito Sacapano, Rev. Apolonio Francia, Rev. Gigari, Rev Edwardo Calvo, Rev. Malvar Castillon, Pastor Proserfina Plasus, Pastor Fred Jacildo, Mrs. Feraz Legita, Rev. Geofrey Parish, Rev. Sven Lindstrom, Rev. Olof Lindstrom, Mr. Leo Liljengren, Mr Aki and Kikki Svalfors, Rev. Emelio Lapatha, Rev. Elias Laprades, Rev. Harold Blatt, Rev. Ernesto Carvajal , Rev. Ernesto Uncho, and quite a number more have stayed for a day and night at home..

I think, the time we have pastors at home have helped us, my brothers and sisters to developed a sense of sensibility that comes with a few minutes time and conversations with pastors, both men and women of God. They have a kind of bearings and attitudes, the language and the way of speaking that helped developed good attitudes and sense of responsibility that I thought, were moulded from stays of ministers of God who visit our homes. There visit blessed us as a family. The ministers of God’s short stay, a day or two, in our homes were blessings to the family.