The writing of the Tractatus Ayyew: Earthen Ethics is the culmination of a decade long dialogue and friendship between Russell Maier and Banayan Angway (read the full story in the preface). The book is inspired by Banayan's research and articulation of the concept of Ayyew for the Cordillera Administrative Region DepEd Indigenous Knowledge curriculum¹ and their experience founding the Filipino ecobrick movement.²

The words of the Tractatus Ayyew are written by Russell with Banayan's oversight and review. The chapter format of prefaced ecological parables is inspired by the Igorot tradition of storytelling after the Bugnas festival feast.

With her academic background in education and anthropology, Bananyan has worked for over two decades in indigenous value education. A long time researcher and practioner of her people's values she has worked tirelessly to integrate Igorot concepts into the eduction curriculum of the Northern Philippines. As the Indigenous Peoples Education (IPED) coordinator for Mountain Province from 2011-2015 she oversaw the integration of Igorot values into five thousand schools. In 2012, guided by these values, she was instrumental in the start of a local movement of ecobricking that would later spread across the entire Philippines and beyond. She has been the Filipino Department of Education's Schools Division Superintendent for the province of Abra and Tabuk City. She is currently the DEPED superintendent for the province of Apayao.

Russell is an inventor and regenerative philosopher, currently based in Gianyar, Indonesia. Russell is a co-founder of the Global Ecobrick Alliance with Banayan. When not gardening, programming or designing, he writes on Earthen.io. He is currently the lead of the Global Ecobrick Alliance’s Ocean to Earthen project that recovers ocean plastic to build regenerative earth and ecobrick structures.