BANAO TRIBAL ELDERS FROM KALINGA VISIT DAVAO FOR QUALITY COFFEE PRODUCTION TRAINING

The Banao Tribal Elders from the Municipality of Balbalan, Province of Kalinga graced us with their presence from 27 February to 02 March 2019. During their visit, they affirmed our inclusive development partnership; they went through an orientation seminar on coffee farming, processing, quality enhancement, and marketing; and, they enjoyed key places in Davao City and the Mount Apo area.

Under the direction of Sihaya Ansibod and technical instruction of Sonny Bautista, the Banao Tribal Elders spent a day at the PeaceBuilders Inclusive Development Training Center for their hands-on training on post-harvest coffee processing. Bansalan, Davao del Sur. 01 March 2019.

We’re grateful to Barangay Talalang Captain Clarence Tongdo, Elder Danilo Duquinal, Elder Adolfo Bawanta, Elder Juliet Guiaoan, Elder Abraham Aromin, and Elder Royce Lingbawan.

The relationship between PBCI-CFP family and the Banao Tribe started in January 2017 when Lakan Sumulong travelled to the ancestral domain of the Banao Tribe to explore a relationship with their elders, accompanied by Aiza Wanay. That visit was later affirmed by the PBCI-CFP family by sending its Inclusive Development Team last June 2018.

The relationship was further strengthened when Willard Metzger, who was the Executive Director of Mennonite Church Canada (MCCanada), and Jason Martin, Director of International Witness, visited Kalinga in October 2018.

“MCCanada connects PeaceBuilders Community and Coffee for Peace to our global network of impact investors and solidarity markets,” said PBCI-CFP founders Lakan Sumulong and Lakambini Mapayapa, who were sent by MCCanada in 2006 as peacebuilding missionaries to the Philippines.

This visit also clarified the partnership principles by which we, at PeaceBuilders Community and Coffee for Peace, always consider when establishing a coffee growing social business:

that this is a social entrepreneurial endeavour
that this will be framed in ethical values of truth, love, justice, and peace acceptable to both Kalinga and Christian spiritualities;
that 60% of the net profit will go directly to the farmers and their respective communities;
that the cooperative will welcome impact investors through the Coffee for Peace inclusive development partners;
that PeaceBuilders Community will have the oversight of the training program and product quality control;
that Coffee for Peace will have ‘the right of first refusal’ in buying the products using fair trading principles and practices and will also lead in the marketing strategy.

AIZA WANAY WAS SENT BY THE BANAO TRIBAL ELDERS FOR A TWO-YEAR TRAINING AT THE PEACEBUILDERS SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP

Meet Gelli Aiza “Wanay” Sannadan Baluyan — a proud indigenous woman from the tribe of Banao in the Province of Kalinga. She is a Registered Nurse with specific expertise on health advocacy. Along her professional journey, she gained skills on systems administration, event coordination as well as community-based learning facilitation.

She is also a dedicated environmental activist.

Her dream is to continue her passion to help her people in the area of community-based health care and inclusive development initiatives — such as coffee farming, processing, and marketing. While learning peace and reconciliation with PBCI and CFP, she is also dreaming to rejuvenate the coffee plantations in their tribal lands in Kalinga, starting with the properties her family owns.

Aiza had completed her first year of training in the areas of peace and reconciliation principles and practices, coffee quality grading skills, barista skills, coffee shop management skills, and entrepreneurial office management skills. She’s now entering the second year of her training program, which includes community organizing skills, cooperative development skills, conflict transformation skills, coffee farming skills, post-harvest processing skills, and justice-based trading skills.