Joji Pantoja – Coffee for Peace | Environment – Farmers

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL: FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE ARE DOING WELL THIS 2022 HOLIDAY SEASON

ByLakan & Lakambini 23.December.202227.December.2022

2022 was like seeing the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. We felt we were getting out of the darkness of 2020-2021 paralyses due to Covid. Joji was able to visit and bond with our three adult children and eight grandchildren last Fall. They bring so much joy to our lives. Meanwhile, the operations of Coffee for Peace (CFP) in the context of the new realities are being appreciated by the global social enterprise community. The Field Operations Team of PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. (PBCI) revived our on-the-ground projects with various community partners. With both the PBCI Board of Trustees and the CFP Board of Directors, we reviewed the past 16 years of justice-based peace and reconciliation ministry in Mindanao and we all agreed that this Philippine ministry is now entering into a leadership transition phase.

TALAANDIG COMMUNITY FINISHES FIRST WORKSHOP ON SE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

ByTala Alngag Bautista 28.August.202210.October.2022

26 – 27 Aug 2022. The Talaandig Indigenous People’s community in Sungko, Lantapan, Bukidnon, finished the first of two social entrepreneurship (SE) workshops which was jointly facilitated by Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), led by Dr. Jinky Bornales, and the Inclusive Development Team of PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. and Coffee for Peace (PBCI-CFP IncluDev Team). With the cultural guidance and leadership of Datu Migketay “Vic” Saway, the seminar-workshop focused on generating Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP) that can be used in their social enterprise ventures. The participants also identified the products that they want to develop as social enterprises.

2022 MWC GLOBAL ASSEMBLY IN INDONESIA: A PERSONAL REFLECTION

ByJoji Felicitas Pantoja 15.July.202210.October.2022

Indonesia 2022 gathering was my sixth year and my last event serving as chair of the Peace Commission of the Mennonite World Conference (MWC). I feel the joy of watching our team working together to see MWC embrace the Statement on Solidarity with the Indigenous People. For me, this is the most exciting part of the last 6 years serving with the Peace Commission. I have been blessed working with the women and men whom I learned to respect and love. I pray that MWC would continue to serve the Body of Christ; to serve the nations towards justice and peace; and, to serve as a healing body in the process of decolonization and reconciliation in this world.

OUR CEO SPEAKS AT AN EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR INNOVATORS AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

ByCFP InfoComm Team 7.March.202215.March.2022

Wednesday, 02 March 2022 — The College of Economics, Business and Accountancy (CEBA) and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Extension (OVCRE) of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) invited Joji “Lakambini” Pantoja, our President & CEO at CoffeeForPeace.Com, to speak on an online program to educate participants on innovation and social entrepreneurship. The program is called Social Innovation Development and Entrepreneurship Conversation (SIDE C).

THE ‘KAPEYAPAAN FARMERS ASSOCIATION’ IN BANSALAN MEETS FOR 2022 PLANS

BySihaya Ansibod 9.December.202120.December.2021

The Board of Directors of the Kapeyapaan Farmers Association in Bansalan, Davao del Sur met last Wednesday, 01 December 2021. They outlined their objectives for the coming year 2022. They are as follows: to streamline farm to market operation; to complete the collection of members’ contribution towards the association fund of PhP2,000 each; to complete the registration with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as a regional farmers association; and, to get members’ Good Agricultural Practices Certification from the Department of Agriculture.

THE TRIBAL COUNCIL OF THE BAGOBO TAGABAWA CONFERRED HONORARY TITLES TO OUR TEAM

ByLakan & Lakambini 5.November.202117.November.2021

During the final day of the National Indigenous Peoples’ Month, which is celebrated every October, the tribal council of the Bagobo Tagabawa invited us to attend their final ceremonies. We were told that, among several events of the day, “there will be a ceremony to officially include us as members of the tribe.” They actually surprised us by conferring honorary leadership titles along with our ritual membership into the tribal community. For this sacred embrace, we express our deep gratitude to the Indigenous Political Structure, the clans, and the families of the Bagobo Tagabawa people. By the Creator’s grace and mercy, we commit to fulfill the duties and responsibilities implied in this honor.

COFFEE FOR PEACE OPENS A KIOSK AT THE ABREEZA MALL IN DAVAO CITY

ByJoji Felicitas Pantoja 4.October.202128.September.2021

I heard that the Ayala Corporation is supporting social enterprises by offering free space in their chain of malls throughout the country. Last 19 April 2021, I got a call from one of their representatives inquiring if I was interested in opening a 26-square-meter shop at the Ayala Abreeza Mall in Davao City as part of their Alagang Ayala Land Program. My first reaction was to pray. Then I established my objectives in light of the vision and mission of Coffee for Peace. I presented the plan to our community and to the management team of CFP. Our team recruited new interns and prepared them for this opportunity. Last 16 September 2021, we opened the Coffee for Peace Kiosk at Abreeza.

THE BAGOBO TAGABAWA IN BINATON COMPLETES SIX-MONTH ‘INCLUDEV’ TRAINING

ByLakan Sumulong 17.September.202124.September.2021

16-17 September 2021. After the six-month Inclusive Development Training, the Bagobo Tagabawa community in Barangay Binaton, Digos City begins a long-term partnership with the PBCI-CFP Tribe. This partnership involves community-based, culturally contextualized Social Enterprise Development framed in Peace and Reconciliation (PAR) principles and practices. Because 80% of the participants in this program are women, we are giving greater emphasis on indigenous women’s leadership development. We are sharing the aspiration of the Bagobo Tagabawa Indigenous People to realize and enjoy their right to self-determination and to protect their ancestral domain.