The Lebunas and their neighbors rebuilt their lives, relying on their agroecosystem and traditional agroecological knowledge.

Our belongings were soaked, our house was destroyed, and only the skeletal structure remained on the ground.” “Fortunately, we were not hit by those falling objects,” she recalls. It forced her family to take cover on the floor as their roof peeled away and trees toppled.

When Haiyan hit, the wind sounded like a crashing airplane, Lebuna recalls. But initially, the tribe didn’t expect it to be stronger than previous storms. The typhoon went on to become the deadliest storm in the country’s modern record, killing more than 6,000 people. Later, they heard a warning through the radio about Haiyan, known in the Philippines as Yolanda. Well acquainted with these natural climate hazard indicators and warning systems, families like the Lebunas harvested their crops and stocked up on firewood to help weather the storm and its aftermath. The day after the premonition, the Suludnon community noticed signs of the approaching calamity: birds, snakes and bees retreating into the mountains, tree leaves turning upside down, and farm animals acting erratically. He woke up and asked, ‘What was that? Why did I dream that?’ He told us to find shelter because a storm was coming,” the 51-year-old mother of six tells Mongabay. “There was someone shouting, giving a warning. 8, 2013, Lebuna says her husband, Leopoldo, had a disturbing dream. However, thanks to their traditional knowledge and strong connection to the local agroecosystem, farmers like Lebuna have so far managed to prepare for disasters.ĭays before Typhoon Haiyan hit on Nov. To get information about the weather, Indigenous Suludnon farmers like Adelfa Lebuna must either brave the trip to town - risky during the rainy season - or rely on a battery-powered radio. The nearest town center is an hour’s drive along a rough, unpaved road, and electricity has only recently reached the village and remains intermittent. In the mountainous village of Jayobo in the central Philippines, internet and mobile connectivity are spotty.

State of survival farming account