Foot Forward #2: 'Creating A More Compassionate World'

Hi Steemit friends!

Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime - Lao Tzu
This is base on Matigsalog Tribe of Datu Salumay, Davao City, Philippines.

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In any circumstances, when we see people who are financially and intellectually deprived by chance or by time we pity them. But what if there's an access or you have access to change their lives, will you help them?

I do sometimes help when I think it is needed the most. However, with couple of trips to this tribe, I learned that helping on something that is inside your pocket sustains their needs for sufficiency. If I don't or we don't step up to something more monetizing, they will still pass the knowledge of begging even though some of their younger generations now has attained some level of education.

So, with no groups or government or even investors. Pastor Alex Britanico and Pastor Jun Morales initiated in reaching out the tribe and starts to educating with financial managements and developments to bring up food for their tables. For couple of years since they've gained trust from their "chieftains" I was tag along. I've been with the group and helping them since June this year.

As you notice the picture above, they actually have 3600+ hectares ancestral domain. Ever since, their livelihood is within 1 to 2 hectares only with crops however the rest they sometimes sell it for almost or equivalent from one sack of rice and that's terribly wrong in my point of view. This is were we enter to save it. With a very particular asset we three have, we will have to do something sufficient, long term and that it can be pass down to generations to generations.

We are making an AGRIculture-ECOsystem-TOURISM. The chieftains agrees with the concept we're putting in. So, with no delays we immediately start to look for a very good place to welcome our "day tourist" area. The concept highlights mountain trekking, cacao trees, bamboo and sun flower gardens, tent valleys and hot springs (since the area has a very cold weather even in summer)

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Every Saturday (DO DAY) since we keep on visiting the place given to us and start small things to prepare. Me and Pastor Alex cut tall grasses that could reach 7 ft in height.
BEFORE
AFTER
We cover almost 800 sqm for just 2 Saturdays and we still need to cover a lot to access some flats in the area.

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October 14, 2017, we started to build our center building who will welcome our guests of 10 persons to start and hoping that we will have our soft opening this coming November to which the income will fund up the next cottage and so on.

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With surprise we are glad that the Chairman Mansabid and her wife and Pastora Diwan (Barangay Secretary) joined us and help us by shaving bamboo skin to use as flooring later on for curing to give it more strength and ready for the next Saturday.

It is so amazing that women's of this tribe are extending their help too however for heavy lifts we need men for the job but tribes men have their own jobs as carpenters and others are maintaining their crops.

October 21, 2017 yesterday. We started to split a bamboo to 6-8 slabs and sand paper the sides for smooth surface and edges.
Only 1/4 of estimated 7 sqm flooring was done due to during that time it was raining, not much but it has heavy wind. We will go back their to finish it and cut some bamboos to cure again for roofing.

Basically, what's here and what we will be doing is beneficial to them. The most crucial is to maintain the relationships with the tribes. Since, some of them and most men are still skeptical of what we are doing here. Technically, they've build up a manner of "money talks" they will only act on things that involve instant money and we are trying to break it. There's no income in just selling hectares of hectares of land and it will come to a point that there will be no lots to sell and they still in poverty. We are sacrificing almost all. Our time and money to this project to fulfill our dreams to give them better lives.