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SUMACHER TRIBE IN KALINGA INVITES CFP FOR INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

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We were invited by the Sumacher Tribe of the Upper Kalinga to explore an inclusive development partnership with them starting with coffee production and marketing. This is part of our long term relationship with the Kalinga people that started in 2010.

Twinkle Alngag Bautista, or Tala for those who are close to her, is the person that brought us closer to Kalinga. She belongs to the Sumacher tribe.

Last February, Rev. Luis Daniel Pantoja, President and CEO of PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. (PBCI) and also the Chairman of the Board of Coffee For Peace, visited the village of Sumacher as a fulfillment of a promise he made to the elders of this tribe.

Then, last April 18-20, another Peace and Reconciliation Community is born!

This is a continuation of a series of events that we believe is harmonized by the Creator Afuniyan:

In 2014, Ferdinand Chulsi and Josie Alngag joined in an orientation for coffee farming in Bugnay, Tinglayan. They invited the PBCI team to give the same training to Sumacher.

In 2015, Jeanette Bernawi Domallig and Josie joined the Peace and Reconciliation training. They embraced the peace theology and invited us to give also the same training.

This year, we finally went to Sumacher and 20 people joined the training on Peace and Reconciliation and coffee farming.

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But the amazing part of it was that, even before the training, land was already prepared for the Arabica coffee. 3,000 citrus seedlings were planted as the cover trees. It spoke volumes about their commitment!

The PAR team in Sumacher envisions their coffee farms to produce global quality coffee which will be an icon to tell their story as a people.

Through a process of active listening, we were given the privilege of having a grasp of the dreams and visions of the Sumacher people.  This listening process is consistent with the philosophy of cross-cultural interaction every time we interact with the Indigenous Peoples.

We are being taught by the Indigenous People in the Philippines to join them as they journey towards their right to self determination.
We will support their view of their future and we will help preserve and nurture their respective Ancestral Domains.

We have learned to respect the dreams of their elders and we are enriched by listening to the visions of their young people.
We will walk with them towards their dream of a sustainable livelihood that respects their culture and dignity as a people.

We are seeing a lot of Indigenous People living on mountains higher than 500 meters above sea level who have existing coffee trees.
We will share a coffee processing technology that would meet the highest local and global standards at Fair Trade prices.

We are invited to look to the future when all the Indigenous People in this land are trading fairly in local and global markets.
We will assist in developing their entrepreneurial skills by practising direct trade philosophies and inclusive business models to the coffee industry.

We are facing the reality that our resources and the money earned, may lead to conflict, if we as a community do not prepare or plan for our financial future.
We are invited to journey with community leaders and their people in basic conflict resolution approaches and financial management strategies, to ensure the sustainability of their culture and resources.

So, as the Creator, whom the Kalinga people know as Afunyian, continues to allow us to serve the Kalinga people, we will pursue this inclusive development partnership with the Sumacher tribe. We submit our whole being to the Creator regarding this journey.