Twenty-seven (27) mothers from the Tagbanua and Palaw’an indigenous communities in Palawan’s southern municipalities came together for the Nanay Camp co-organized by the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA). Organized to widen civic spaces for causes and actions towards women advocacy on forest protection, the four-day camp was conducted last November 11-14 at Villa Esperanza Resort in Quezon, Palawan.
The Camp provided a valuable opportunity for the Indigenous women of Palawan to gather and share their perspectives on pressing issues, personal experiences, shared culture, challenges, and concerns that significantly impact their roles as women, and community members/leaders, and forest advocates.
Capacity-building through learning
The three (3) learning sessions were equally spread out on the first three days of the camp. Understanding the women’s perceived roles and linked responsibilities has been the focus of the first activity titled “World Cafe” led by For. Rosemarie Joy Quetula, (Project Officer). In the activity, all participants were provided with a chance to freely talk about their lives as women, as organization leaders, and as advocates of the forest within their communities. The exchange highlighted how the mothers were not only homemakers but are providers, decision makers, teachers and proactive defenders of life — with persistence and patience which they use as weapons to leverage their efforts and advocacies.
Ate Neng, as she would prefer to be called, shared how challenging and tiring it was to advocate for causes that protect the environment while also having the responsibilities at her own home, but her persistence and patience kept her through all the problems she faced and sustained her to keep fighting for what she thinks is right and beneficial for all. According to her, the vastness of the ancestral land and forest from where they grew up symbolizes how women leaders she knows have patience that is big and vast that allows them to focus on their goals and achieve the conservation and protection of the forest no matter what circumstance they had to face.
(Mapping stories. Ate Neng narrates the stories coming from each portion of the drawing she and her groupmates at the third cafe drew on the manila paper)
The session on the second day focused on discovering what the mothers perceive as issues within their communities, its effects, and their proposed solutions to address each dilemma. Eventually, each group has identified women and children-related violence, local policies in delivering a baby, lack of opportunities to earn a living, illegal logging, dams and mining to have had some of the biggest health risks, livelihood threat and repercussions. As a countermeasure, the plenary have mentioned knowledge and awareness as two of the most effective solutions they can think of. Specifically, they emphasized that by expanding women’s advocacy networks, engaging local community members, and conducting information, education, and communication (IEC) campaigns, training, and dialogues, while recognizing the need to support policymakers who advocate for elimination of destructive forest activities, they can start making little acts for change.
Ms. Carina “Ihna” Dacillo, Program Accountant of the Forest Foundation Philippines, gave a lecture about bookkeeping intended to capacitate the mothers further in handling their family, organization and communities’ financial resources. Equipping them with necessary skills, she leveled off with the mothers by engaging them and answering questions and concerns based on personal experiences shared by every participant. In exchange, Ms. Dacillo provided tips to help the participants utilize proper and effective bookkeeping techniques. These tips are designed to minimize the risk of getting flagged for inaccuracies and inappropriateness while ensuring transparency and accountability.
Mr. Jonas Vertudez of NTFP-EP Philippines facilitated a lecture on Stress Management. According to Mr. Vertudez, opening up topics about stress management is important to help all mothers to address their own stressors and be able to personally develop ways on how they can effectively manage and overcome overwhelming feelings and emotions as they experience it. Having identified some of their most common stressors like family issues, money, schools, and bills — among many, Mr. Vertudez highlighted various techniques on how they could address negative stress by developing life skills.
Capacity-building through immersing
The facilitators deemed it necessary to immerse the participants in their own culture and heritage so they could have a better understanding of their ancestry and being. A learning visit was done at the Tabon Cave Complex at Lipuun Point managed by the National Museum of the Philippines in Quezon, Palawan. It included a tour of the museum complex, which showcased the biodiversity, culture, tradition, and artifacts of Palawan, and a hike at Tabon Caves, dubbed as the country’s cradle of civilization. The visit was deemed by the mothers as a memorable and joyful experience.
Many mothers expressed their delight at having the chance to explore these cultural and historical landmarks. They remarked that, despite being locals, such opportunities to connect with and learn about their heritage are rare and were in return, deeply appreciated.
(All eyes on camera. Facilitators and participants capturing memory at the signage at the front of the Tabon Cave Complex and National Museum of the Philippines in Quezon, Palawan)
Capacity-building through playing
To end the third day, For. Nelissa Rocas, (Program Manager), facilitated the playing of “Solusyon and Negosasyon” — a Land Use Negotiation Tabletop Game. The board game was a gamification method that hopes to be explored as a solution for landscape restoration capacity development by simulating a safe and playful environment where real-life issues and concerns could be talked about.
(Ready to develop. A group of Land Developers (role) trying to set up their board before the game starts)
Being the mothers’ first time to play such a game, a large chunk of the time was utilized in the explanation of the mechanics of the game — the players’ roles, the materials used, and the rules of the game. When disaster simulations, such as a typhoon, were introduced in the middle of the game by the facilitators, the mothers showed feelings of sadness and disappointment as they watched their efforts in growing trees or building houses undone by the typhoon’s destruction. This experience highlighted the unpredictability of such events and underscored how drastically circumstances can shift, much like in real life. While many of the participants expressed confusion at first, they had eventually understood the way the game works and have become competitive in advancing each group’s agenda in order to win. By the end of the game, the mothers expressed appreciation for the valuable lessons they gained from the experience.
Moving forward, more opportunities for the replication of the camp is perceived and planning of possible integration of other lessons and activities for the mother to enjoy and learn from is being explored.
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The Nanay Camp is a joint effort of Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) Philippines, Institute for the Development of Educational and Ecological Alternatives, Inc. (IDEAS), and the Forest Foundation Philippines’ Sustainable and Inclusive Landscape Governance (SILG) Program, these are Non Government Organizations (NGOs) that are affiliated with the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA).
To learn more about the Sustainable and Inclusive Landscape Governance (SILG) program, a joint initiative of Forest Foundation and Tropenbos International, visit https://www.forestfoundation.ph/special-grant-programs/.