As a farmer: 

      He devotes on farming (pagsasaka) on the land inherited from parents or grandparents including a carabao (kalabaw), or through tenant (pakikisama). He goes to work early in the morning or at dawn just when the golden sunbeams break out from the mountain range that runs from Bugarin to Jala-jala, together with the life-giving amihan that swept the strand and across Laguna de Bay. He goes home at sunset upon hearing the angelus (albe or orasyon)from the belfry of the town church – time to make a sign of a cross (antanda) and to say a prayer. 

      He wears his di-tuhog pugot made from flour sacks or katsa, dyed locally (dinampol), and long-sleeve bentang-maong jacket or chicken-feed sack material sewn by his wife or daughter. Sometimes, he is contented with tukeke or uwa-uwa. A towelette is tied around his neck together with the cigarette and a box of matches to prevent from being wet. 

      In most cases, he wears a pair of palagatos made from discarded exterior automobile tire, or wooden shoes (bakya), or nothing at all (tapak or istalapata). A man from Maybancal used to make palagatos for a minimal cost for labor, dalawang-piso a pair. The material is provided by the owner of the palagatos. For head gear, he has salakot woven from bamboo splits (tinipas or takukom) and sansoy made from yunot (cabonegro), and anahaw serving as raincoat. 

      Every time he goes to the rice field, he carries with him a tanggunggong where he places all things that need to be dry the whole day. This is made of plain galvanized iron, cylindrical in form, provided with cover of the same material and a shoulder strap. The average size of the tanggunggong is about 6 inches to 7 inches in diameter and 8 inches high. 

      In place of tanggunggong, he sometime carries a tampipi (wooven from bamboo splits or rattan,provided with cover and shoulder strap same as the tanggunggong). It only differs in shape. The tampipi is rectangular with rounded corners, with the exception of the four bottom corners. The size varies, (4 in. x 6 in. x 6 in.) most common. This is exclusively used for keeping extra shirts, small towel, lunch or viand (maluto: kanin, with either tuyo, adobong dulong, ginataang hipon or hinalbos sa tinartar na kamyas, pritong biya, kabasi, inasnan, daing, and panutsa or bukayo for himagas) wrapped in banana leaf with outer wrapping of old issue of Liwayway or Taliba. He seldom carries drinking water. He either drinks water from the old footprints of kalabaw or from bubutasan or small bal-on in the farm. A few carries bongbong, about three bamboo joints long, filled with water. 

      Some provide themselves with them a small tampipi woven from sabutan or bulsikot of which size in a little bigger than the cigarette pack to give room for a pinkian or casa-fuego or posporo and a few pesos which he had saved and hidden from his wife, set aside for Sunday’s tupada. 

      Pinkian – a primitive system of building fire, consist of a piece of marble rock 
striked by a piece of iron that produces sparks, which is instantly caught by a  
blob of lulog , a by-product of bahi palm mostly growing in the hinterlands or 
forest. Before keeping the pinkian in the pocket, make sure it’s totally safe from 
even a bit of amber…baka mag-uk-ok.  

      He also carries itak which is the top of the line (de berko), or panaluksok model. This is smaller or shorter than a utility bolo like binakuko, pang-kaingin, pantalaksan, or pang-pangahoy. These itak (de berko) is made from the best metal in town (Raytranco’s iron spring or muelle, ball-bearing casing, iron files, and tire rim) and custom forge by the town’s well-known pandays – Simon and Pidong. If you happened to be a close relative of these two pandays, therefore, gratis or kiliti. 

      The kaluban is almost always made of leather. There are some made of narra and bamboo, while the puluhan is mostly made from "sungay ng kalabaw" with silver decorated sakla. 

      He takes good care of his itak very much – grinds or hasa-ing it after using or before sleeping. He always keeps it sharpened and seldom lends it. Farmers don’t leave home without it. Itak is his best companion wherever he goes and sees to it that this is kept oiled when not in used. 

      After a severe thunderstorm, this farmer goes out to the subaan with his sima, salakot, sansoy, cigarettes, pinkian or casa-fuego – to catch dalag or pantat, karpita, hito, gurami, tinikan. If he is unfortunate not to catch any of these fish, he resorted to picking-up snails (kuhol). Those who could afford to own a sulo use to catch fish with sima aided by this carbide lantern with high-power lense. This is done when the water along the shoreline of Laguna de Bay is almost crystal clear. The penetration of light is about 2 feet. Those who couldn’t afford a sulo ay nagsasalaksak na lamang—ala s’werte—by using the sima ‘til makasuklob ng dalag, hito, etc.  

      With this sulo is fishing with the use of salapang, a five-pointed spear, suspended to one end of a straight bamboo pole, big and light enough. This is a two-man job. One at the rear of the banca, the bangkero, who paddles and the other one infront holds the salapang. They both see to it that they’re moving smoothly forward without a bit of noise. The man with the salapang must possess good reflexes and skill in spear throwing or spear fencing. He gives signals to the bankero by pointing left or right or straight forward. They seldom talk.  

      Lines of panloob, paluhay, kitang, and bikatot fill the shoreline and sides of the pilapil where water flows continuously. 

      Back at home in his kural, he hangs the plow (araro) with a well-polished sursor and pimpin (pinakintab with the use of ashes or abo), the harrow (suyor), the sledge (paragos), the sudlong and the batangan. There hangs also different sizes of ropes (suga). Implements for harvesting rice such as lingkaw, lapat, and pang-ani hanged in the chimney (asuhan) to keep it dry and bukbok proof. Panghataw ng palay also are hanged neatly on the wall. A hampasang-bato with stand is kept together with implements for threshing rice bundles (tangkas), saliit or paghahampas – a crude method of separating the grains from the straw. This is usually done during dry season when the rice stalks (mandala) and grains are completely dried and in the early hour of the morning to avoid the burning heat of the sun. 

      In one corner of his yard, he has a resting place for the carabao (kuralan ng kalabaw) for protection to intense heat of the sun or heavy rain. Accumulated dung is composted for fertilizer. Overnight fresh dung is used for bastiya. 

      Pambastiya - a mixture of fresh carabao manure and water stirred well in a kerosene can. It is then spread, with the use of walis-tingting, on top of the bare and clean earthen floor of the silong to control the alabok from mixing  with rice grain which is mostly stored under the house before it is stored in bukot or sisto or tiklis. Bastiya is also applied to bukot and sisto to prevent the palay from being spilled between weavers.  

      Kalabaw manure, when dried, doesn’t stink…walang amoy. Bukot or sisto is made from woven bamboo splits or sasag from buho, and tiklis is made from wood and plain galvanized iron (linso).  

      Pagtatalumpok: Before building rice stalks, rice bundles are piled on the pilapil to drip especially when over-taken by rain after harvesting. When dried, comes the pagmamandala. When it’s over, it is provided with barbed wire fence and urang until it is ready for saliit.  

      Giik is another method of separating the grain from the straw which is done during "panag-araw."  

      A pole is tied on two opposite posts of the rampa for the manggigiik to hold as they thresh and roll the rice bundles (pumpon). They use their bare feet, backward and pull the same pumpon towards the front. This sequence is done until all the grains fall under the papag.  

      Pagiik - composed of 6 to 8 persons depending on the length of the papag.The first one is called "pasukan," the third or fourth person is the "pagpagan" or whoever of the two, and the last person is the "palabasan" who decides whether the separation of grain from straw is done. As a signal, he  taps the pole (hawakan) two times with a piece of stick. The manggigiik, upon  hearing the taps, immediately passes the pumpon they are threshing to the  man next to him towards the palabasan. The pagpagan, composed of two or three young ladies, if they found out that the pumpon is not well threshed, have the right to shout loud enough saying… "Hoy!! Yuso-yuso nang kaunti mapalay." This process is done all the way through the last pumpon.  

      Minandal such as biko, suman, or bibingka, with ginat-an or higute is served. Sometimes, it takes the whole day or the whole night to finish threshing so dinner is complete with tinolang manok. Cigarettes are provided by the talye. 

      Talye is the one responsible for the manggigiik, who are in most cases happened to be his close friends or relatives. Talye, is the man who is  in love (manliligaw) with the may-pagiik’s daughter.   

      Winowing (pagpapahangin) or the process of cleaning, done to separate the poor grain (tulyapis) and ipa from the good grain. Before storing it in the bukot, sisto, or tiklis, it is being dried under the sun spread on the sawali (woven from bamboo splits similar to banig).