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A Philippine Environment Month Youth Story | Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines On World Environment Day, one month after a peaceful anti-mining rally in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, an Indigenous youth leader reminds us that conservation is also the courage to stand, speak, and protect what gives life. Portrait of Pelawan youth leader Mhar Dubria of Brooke’s Point, Palawan, Chairperson of UGNAYIN PH On May 4, 2026, Indigenous youth and community members gathered in front of the municipal hall of Brooke’s Point, Palawan, to peacefully call for the protection of their forests, farms, waters, and future from mining expansion. Among them was Mamilmar “Mhar” M. Dubria Jr., a Pelawan/Palaw’an youth leader from Brooke’s Point and the current Chairperson of the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH). For Mhar, the rally is part of an ongoing journey that began years earlier: first with questions about his own Indigenous identity, then with the stories and struggles of his elders, then through youth organizing, learning spaces, community work, and finally, a public commitment to stand with other young people for the forests that continue to sustain their lives. As the Philippines observes Philippine Environment Month, and as the world marks World Environment Day, Mhar’s story asks an urgent question: What does it truly mean to conserve nature when communities are already defending it from destruction? For Mhar, conservation is not limited to planting trees or protecting what remains after damage has already been done. It also means preventing harm; standing beside communities before forests become excavation sites, before rivers carry silt downstream, before fear becomes the inheritance of another generation. “Mahalaga kasi yung mga peaceful rally. Mahalaga siya sa conservation. Bakit? Kasi unang-una, ang pag-protekta sa kalikasan, hindi yung dahil nagtanim ka lang ng puno, hindi dahil hindi mo kinalbo ang puno, kasama na rin doon yung panawagan.” (Peaceful rallies matter to conservation. Why? Because protecting nature is not only about planting a tree or choosing not to cut one down; it also involves making the call be heard.) Photos of the May 4 peacefull rally held in front of Brooke's Point Municipal Office (photos from the Municipal Information Office - LGU Brooke's Point Facebook account) The Beginning of a Voice Mhar grew up in Brooke’s Point with roots from both his father’s Bisaya family and his mother’s Pelawan/Palaw’an community. As a child, he did not immediately understand himself as Indigenous. It was only in high school, while answering questions about his parents’ backgrounds, that he began to recognize his mother’s identity as Pelawan/ Palaw’an, and through her, a part of himself that he would later choose to know more deeply. Photo of Mamilmar Dubria, Jr. from the I-Yes Camp 2025 proudly wearing indigenous cultural attire That realization awakened a curiosity in him. He began learning about his Indigenous community, the difficulties many families faced, and the sacrifices of relatives and elders who had long defended their land and forests. He remembered seeing his grandparents and other family members stand for the community at a time when only few young people appeared ready to follow. At one point, Mhar tried to turn away from this path. He focused on school and on the possibility of building a more conventional future for himself. His parents worried that advocacy might place his opportunities and his safety at risk. But the questions did not leave him. Neither did the pull of the community. “Pero hindi yun yung calling ko. Parang iniisip ko talaga na ang calling ko bilang isang katutubong kabataan ay tumulong magserbisyo para sa komunidad.” (That was not my calling. I truly felt that my calling as an Indigenous youth was to help serve the community.) For Mhar, being Indigenous gradually became more than ancestry. It became responsibility. To know that the forest gives food, medicine, livelihood, memory, ritual, and identity was also to know that remaining silent while it is destroyed would mean abandoning a part of oneself. From Service to Leadership Before leading a national network, Mhar began with small acts of community service. Around 2017, he was involved in a local youth organization whose members went up to Indigenous communities on weekends to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. Believing that public service could help him do more, he later ran for and became an elected Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) leader. Soon after, he was invited to a youth camp in Brooke’s Point, where he met other people working on Indigenous rights and environmental protection. That gathering opened a wider world for him: a space where his questions, values, and desire to serve could be sharpened into action. Over the years, Mhar became involved in youth organizing in Palawan and eventually in the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH), a national network of Indigenous youth organizations and leaders formed to advance Indigenous youth concerns on rights, environment, livelihood, culture, education, and health. Through learning spaces, camps, trainings, and exchanges supported under the Green Livelihoods Alliance – Forests for a Just Future Programme, Mhar developed not only the confidence to speak but also the discipline to listen, assess risks, study policies, understand community processes, and help create space for other young people to participate. Photos from the I-YES Camp 2025 This transformation mattered in concrete moments. During community processes related to mining, Mhar and fellow youth leaders helped gather and mentor other young people so they could better understand processes such as Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), document community concerns, observe proceedings, and contribute to petitions supported by evidence. The change in him became clearer: From wanting to represent a community, he was molded to wanting to help his generation find their own voice. Carrying the Call Through the Airwaves Mhar’s advocacy today continues beyond rallies and meetings. Every week, his voice also travels through the airwaves of Palawan. Mhar currently hosts Bantay Kalikasan, an environmental radio program aired through DZIP 864 Radyo Palaweño, based in Puerto Princesa City, and livestreamed on the station’s Facebook page. Through the program, he discusses environmental issues affecting Palawan and creates space for people to better understand the struggles, responsibilities, and hopes surrounding the island’s forests and communities. Bantay Kalikasan May 30 episode (screenshot taken from the Radyo Palaweno Facebook page) For an Indigenous youth leader who once spoke about needing courage to stand and be heard, the radio program reflects how far his journey has come. His voice now reaches beyond gatherings and community processes. It enters homes, mobile phones, social media feeds, and public conversations across Palawan, where he invites the program’s listeners to see environmental protection as a shared responsibility. From time to time, Mhar also uses the platform to bring forward the work of UGNAYIN PH and the perspectives of other Indigenous youth in Palawan. In an episode aired after the I-YES Camp 2026, UGNAYIN PH Secretary Monitte Lantas, together with fellow youth guests, shared about their engagements during the camp, including their meeting with the National Youth Commission, their visit to the House of Representatives, and the continuing efforts of Indigenous youth to bring their concerns into government spaces. Bantay Kalikasan May 30 episode (screenshot taken from the Radyo Palaweno Facebook page) This is also part of a bigger conservation: defending forests on the ground also goes hand in hand with ensuring that communities are informed, youth voices are amplified, and environmental issues are spoken about in places where public understanding and collective action can grow. In this sense, the May 4 rally also belonged to a wider practice of standing, speaking, listening, and making space for others, from places like the front of Brooke’s Point’s municipal halls, to events within UGNAYIN PH, or behind the microphone of Bantay Kalikasan. When the Mountain Is Life, Mining Is Lived Reality for Indigenous Communities Brooke’s Point is part of Southern Palawan, a landscape of globally significant biodiversity and living Indigenous territories. It is also among the places facing persistent pressure from mining. In March 2025, the Provincial Government of Palawan adopted a 50-year moratorium on endorsements for new mining applications, including endorsements for exploration permits, mining agreements, and financial or technical assistance agreements. The measure was welcomed by communities and advocates as a significant victory after years of organizing. However, a moratorium on new endorsements did not automatically stop all mining threats. Existing mining operations had not been closed by the ordinance and certain renewals and activities may fall outside of its restrictions. In 2026, environmental advocates continued to raise concerns over ongoing applications, proposed expansions, local endorsements, tree-cutting permits, and the incomplete establishment of the monitoring and oversight mechanisms envisioned under the ordinance. In Brooke’s Point, these gaps affected community experiences with anxiety over forests, farms, rivers, ancestral lands, and safety. Public reporting in 2026 has described continued controversy around mining operations and proposed expansion in the municipality, alongside community concerns about possible environmental impacts. Mining operators have disputed claims that their activities are directly responsible for reported damage. This is why, for Mhar and other Indigenous youth, the question cannot simply be whether mining contributes economically. The deeper question is: What kind of development can be called progress if the people who live closest to the forest carry the risks while others take the gains? “Mahalaga ang pag-unlad, mahalaga din ang pagmimina, pero mas mahalaga ang buhay.” (Development is important. Mining is also important, but life is more important.) Mhar speaks of development not as roads, buildings, or wealth accumulating in only a few hands, but as a community’s ability to live with dignity, security, food, culture, and a healthy environment. For him, mining in the natural forests and ancestral landscapes of Brooke’s Point threatens precisely the foundations that allow Indigenous communities to live and thrive over generations. A Forest Is Not an ATM Mhar’s understanding of the forest comes from a worldview that refuses to reduce land to profit alone. In his community, the forest is not simply a collection of resources awaiting extraction. It is where food is grown and gathered; where sacred places are held; where practices, stories, and relationships with the land continue, and a living space that sustains both livelihood and culture. This is also the heart of Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines, which supports locally-led conservation in South Palawan, including landscapes such as the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape (MMPL), the Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range (VAMR), and Mount Bulanjao. These territories are not simply biodiversity-rich areas, but are also as importantly, cultural landscapes where Indigenous communities continue to steward forests facing threats from mining, deforestation, governance gaps, and climate change. Seen through Mhar’s story, youth participation in a peaceful rally is deeply linked to conservation. It is conservation in action. It is the defense of a living landscape before it is turned into an afterthought of development. “Bakit naman natin sinasabi na dapat ang kagubatan ay buhay at hindi ATM? Kasi nga, tayong mga katutubo, tinitignan natin ang kagubatan bilang nagsusupply ng buhay sa atin, pero yung mga mayayamang tao, yung mga investors, tinitignan nila yan bilang ATM.” (Why do we say the forest is life and not an ATM? Because we Indigenous Peoples see the forest as supplying life to us, but wealthy people, investors, see it as an ATM.) The contrast is crystal clear. People go to Automated Teller Machines (ATM) to withdraw money. Indigenous peoples approach the living forest with relationship, gratitude, responsibility, and the knowledge that taking everything today leaves nothing for tomorrow. From Brooke’s Point to a National Youth Agenda Today, Mhar’s leadership continues in many forms: in community mobilizations against mining, through weekly public conversations on Bantay Kalikasan, and as Chairperson of UGNAYIN PH, where he helps carry the concerns of Indigenous youth from different landscapes across the Philippines. Formed in 2022 by Indigenous youth leaders from Sierra Madre, Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao, UGNAYIN PH brings together youth groups working for forest conservation, Indigenous rights recognition, safeguarding culture, education, livelihood, and health. At the center of its advocacy is the Diliman Declaration, developed by Indigenous youth during the 2023 I-YES Camp. The declaration names a reality faced by many young Indigenous people – uncertainty that they will inherit healthy, safe, and secure ancestral lands and forests. It calls on government, civil society, and the private sector to recognize Indigenous youth as partners in protecting nature and ancestral domains; to strengthen their participation in decision-making bodies; to respect Indigenous rights; and to support laws and mechanisms that protect forests and community-conserved territories. Photos from the I-YES Camp 2026 held from May 18 to May 22 in Quezon City With current support from Synchronicity Earth, UGNAYIN PH is continuing to advance this Indigenous youth agenda through the Diliman Declaration. Following the I-YES Camp 2026, youth representatives also engaged government institutions, including the National Youth Commission, where Usec. Jeff Ortage himself attended and discussed a partnership for Indigenous youth, and Cong. Mauricio Domogan at the House of Representatives, as part of their continuing efforts to bring Indigenous youth realities and recommendations into policy conversations. These engagements were later shared by fellow youth through an episode of Bantay Kalikasan, extending the conversation from formal government spaces back to the public. This national work returns, again and again, to local realities like Brooke’s Point. The peaceful mining rally on May 4 is among the many parts of the mission of UGNAYIN PH and its members. The peaceful rally was also the Diliman Declaration integrated through Indigenous youth standing for the right to inherit a future with forests still capable of sustaining life. What the Youth Choose to Inherit Mhar does not deny that standing for the environment can be difficult. In his interview last year, he spoke about fears faced by young advocates, including intimidation, threats, and red-tagging when they speak publicly for nature and their communities. But hope does not escape the youth leader. Seeing more and more young people joining the call, learning to speak, and realizing that the work of protecting land cannot belong only to elders is hope in action. For Mhar, the task of Indigenous youth isn’t just to sit quietly and passively; the task is to begin solving the intergenerational problem of environmental destruction in the present, so that future generations can have lives living abundantly within forests that remain alive. His dream for Brooke’s Point is simple yet immense: that ten or twenty years from now, the municipality’s forests will remain thriving; that children will grow up without fearing every heavy rain or flood; that communities will feel safe; and that Indigenous culture will remain rooted in the mountains that have always sustained it. On World Environment Day, Mhar’s story is a stark reminder that environmental protection is not just protection on paper, but about listening to the communities already protecting them. Conservation is also ensuring that youth who speak for forests are welcomed with pride, recognition, safety, and support. Portrait of Pelawan youth leader Mhar Dubria of Brooke’s Point, Palawan, Chairperson of UGNAYIN PH Environmental advocacy is understanding what youth like Mhar has come to know his whole life: “Para sa mga katutubong kabataan, ang kagubatan ay BUHAY.” (For Indigenous youth, the forest is LIFE.) Acknowledgements and References This youth story feature is produced in connection with Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines, which supports locally-led conservation in South Palawan through strengthened Indigenous and community leadership. Mhar’s leadership journey and earlier story documentation were developed through UGNAYIN PH engagements supported under the Green Livelihoods Alliance – Forests for a Just Future Programme (2021–2025). Primary interview references: Interview with Mamilmar “Mhar” M. Dubria Jr. for the Green Livelihoods Alliance, 10 July 2025 Interview with Mamilmar “Mhar” M. Dubria Jr. for Nature’s Heartbeat Philippines, 8 May 2026 Supporting references: UGNAYIN PH, Diliman Declaration, November 2023 UGNAYIN PH, About UGNAYIN PH and Master Information document, 2025–2026 NTFP-EP Philippines, World Day of Social Justice: Why Palawan’s 50-Year Mining Moratorium Still Matters (and What’s Happening Now), February 2026 Environmental Legal Assistance Center, Palawan Mining Moratorium at a Crossroads, March 2026 United Nations Environment Programme, World Environment Day 2026 DZIP 864 Radyo Palaweño, Bantay Kalikasan Facebook Live episodes featuring Mhar Dubria and Indigenous youth guests, March–May 2026, including the 23 May 2026 episode featuring Monitte Lantas, Jonavie Nais, Glaiza Mae Sindol and Belle Reyes

In Sagpangan, Aborlan, Palawan, forest honey carries a living relationship between bees, flowering trees, rivers, Indigenous knowledge, women-led care, and a community enterprise that depends on keeping forests standing. What the Tagbanuas refer to as the hive of Omeli or Giant Bee Before wild forest honey reaches a bottle, it has already travelled through an entire living world. It begins with the flowering trees of a healthy forest, gathered by bees moving between blooms, water, hive, and home. It has its own ancient language, read through signs and knowledge passed down from generations of indigenous harvesters. These signs, such as the maturity of the comb, the season of flowering trees, and the health and proximity of the rivers translate the rhythms of a forest that flows at its own pace. In Sagpangan, Aborlan, Palawan, the Tagbanua members of the Samahan ng mga Katutubong Tagbanua sa Sagpangan (SAKTAS) Inc. know that forest honey is never ‘just a product.’ For the Indigenous Tagbaua Community, forest honey is part of life and is derived from the health of a forest itself. It is both food and livelihood. It is a measure of a forest’s biodiversity. It is knowledge passed down from elders. It is part of prayer, respect, and relationship with the forest. Today, through careful harvesting and hygienic processing, it has also become a community-based enterprise that shows how non-timber forest products can support dignified lives while keeping forests standing. NTFP-EP Philippines is exploring a new content series where we’ll show you the different NTFP stories in our country, and we begin this series with the story of Loreta Alsa, fondly known as Ate Inday, a 52-year-old Tagbanua woman, long-time member of SAKTAS and a member of the NTFP-EP Philippines Palawan team. She traces SAKTAS’ organizing and enterprise journeys to around three decades of community work. This long history runs alongside her own years of helping strengthen Indigenous livelihoods in Palawan. Discover her journey and her own indigenous community’s journey with wild forest honey. Their kinship with the forest shows a community continuing to protect the forest that gives. “So, yung forest honey (at gubat), magkadugtong talaga siya. Kasi kung walang gubat, walang mga puno na namumulaklak. Kasi kahit may gubat, tapos kung walang mga puno namumulaklak, ay wala rin sisipsipin na mga nectar ang bubuyog.” (Forest honey is truly interconnected with everything. If there is no forest, there are no flowering trees. And even if there is a forest, without flowering trees, there will be no nectar for the bees to gather.) For Ate Inday, forest honey is inseparable from the forest itself. If there are no flowering trees, bees have nowhere to gather nectar. If there are no bees, there is no honey. If this relationship breaks, one living thread connecting Tagbanua livelihood, culture, and forest care begins to loosen. The journey begins in a flowering forest A bottle of wild honey goes way beyond harvesting. It begins earlier, when the forest blooms. For bees, a healthy forest means food, shelter, water, and its compass. Flowering trees guide bees where to travel and what they gather. Rivers and streams allow them to drink and sustain the process where they transform nectar and pollen into honey. Among the Tagbanua, there is the story of the pukyutan, or Apis dorsata. This story carries this understanding of the indigenous community that they are one with the forest and the bees. In one telling, Parangat/team leader/Giant bee travels through the mountains to look for flowering trees. Once the blooms are found, Parangat returns to guide other bees. Some bees gather nectar; others guard the young; and others search for suitable places to stay and build for the future. Their homes are often found near rivers and streams. Told lightly, this story depicts the many relationships that form honey: these are the flowers, water, trees, seasons, shelter, protection, and a community or ecosystem of beings working together to sustain life. Ate Inday sees this same relationship in the forests around her. “Kung maganda ang iyong biodiversity, maraming mga bubuyog ang naroon. Kasi kung walang mga puno na namumulaklak, hindi rin sila manirahan doon sa gubat na iyon.” (When biodiversity is healthy, many bees can be found there. Without flowering trees, they would not live in that forest.) Photos taken by Ate Inday during a forest monitoring activity in February 2026 in Aborlan. While the presence of bees tells something about the health of the forest, their absence also holds meaning, and most often than not, a warning. Where flowering trees, water sources, and intact forest spaces are abundant; so will bees be able to continue their work. Where forests are degraded, rivers are harmed, or chemical use that threaten pollinators dominate; so does the forest honey’s journey become ever more uncertain. Forest honey may taste simple and sweet, but its journey to get to the bottle comes from complex and biodiverse relationships. Even one hive can reveal the forest’s abundance. During the honey season, Ate Inday shared that a single pukyutan hive can yield up to around 15 kilos of honey. But for SAKTAS, the richness of a harvest comes with safeguards to take only what is needed, so that the bees can return. Bees follow the water, the trees, and the seasons For Ate Inday, the connection between the bees and the forest can be observed in the trees, felt in the seasons, and seen along rivers. She recalls that elders know the role of different flowering trees in the life cycle of bees. Some trees support the formation of the hive and others offer nectar that becomes honey. Still, there are others that provide places where bees prefer to attach their homes. Water is essential. “Pag wala na rin ilog, wala na rin talagang bees. Konektado silang lahat." (If the rivers disappear, so will the bees. They are all interconnected.) Photos taken by Ate Inday during a forest monitoring activity in February 2026 in Aborlan. For harvesters, the river may reveal signs that honey is near. Around riverbanks and stones, they’re able to observe traces connected to bees’ movements. These signs help them decipher whether a hive may be within the surrounding forest. This knowledge is deep and cannot be learned from a single manual. It is the Tagbanua traditional knowledge and practice carried through decades of attention. Walking the forest, listening to elders, observing flowering seasons, knowing the trees, knowing the river, knowing when the bees have arrived – to the learned Tagbanua, these are the different ways the forest communicates. With this way of seeing, they know that honey is produced not by bees alone. Forest honey is made possible by an entire forest community — from the healthy soil to the roots holding the soil, from rivers that give water to the flowering trees, from the bees that carry the pollen to the people who respect these intertwining lives belonging together. Before the harvest comes the pause. The community knows how to listen first. When the forest honey is ready, the next part of its journey begins not with immediate extraction, but with a pause. It begins through listening. Tagbanua harvesters know that the forest has its own timing. They watch the comb for signs of maturity. Ate Inday describes tutub as the mature, sealed portion of the honeycomb that signals the honey may already be harvested. Harvesters also look at the flowering and falling of certain tree species; they observe the season and understand that not every hive should be harvested immediately. Honey cannot be forcibly extracted. It arrives at its own time. The harvest must happen when the time is ripe. For SAKTAS, this careful attention is also intertwined with cultural respect. Before entering particular spaces in the forest or when gathering resources, there are rituals or certain practices to ask for permission first. There are prayers known only by the community and which are passed through generations. “Mayroong secret prayer yung mga taong mag-harvest… Bago kami mag-harvest." (The people who harvest have a secret prayer… before we begin harvesting.) The prayer cannot be shared here in detail. But what’s important is what it reveals: that forest honey is not merely an object to be collected, but a relative and part of a living relationship. For the Tagbanua, the forest holds life because it has everything that their community needs to live and thrive – it has food, medicine, honey, memory, identity, wisdom and presences that require humility. Harvesting, for the community, is also recognizing that people are entering a world already alive with relationships. It begs to show that this sacredness is not beyond sustainability. In fact, it is one of its deepest roots and origins. This indigenous way of harvesting and respecting forest honey is one of the reasons why the forests of Palawan stand tall up to these modern times. When a community sees honey as something to receive part of its own community, something that’s there not simply to be extracted, restraint comes naturally. Care and safeguarding the forest becomes part of life. The future of the bees matters because the relationship matters. Harvesting honey without destroying the hive Once honey is ready, the harvesting process determines whether the journey can continue. As forest honey developed from household food into an enterprise product, SAKTAS strengthened harvesting practices to ensure that increased demand would not mean the destruction of the bees that make the livelihood possible. Harvesters are taught not to take the entire hive. They gather the mature honey portion while leaving behind the young bees and the parts needed for the colony to survive and return. Ate Inday explaining how honey is extarcted without harming the bees. “Kunin lang ang parte ng comb na may honey upang mapagkunan muli." (Take only the part of the honeycomb that contains honey, so the hive can continue producing for future harvests.) This is one of the clearest expressions of sustainable harvest: take what can be taken, while leaving life enough room to continue. Ate Inday also contrasts Tagbanua harvesting practices with destructive methods sometimes used elsewhere. Instead of burning the hive and killing the bees, harvesters use traditional smoke to gently move them away from the comb. “Hindi talaga siya susunugin. So may pamamaraan. Mayroon kaming traditional na smoke… mahihilo lang siya yung bees. So hindi siya mamamatay.” (We do not burn it. There is a proper way to harvest. We use traditional smoke… it only makes the bees dizzy, so they are not killed.) The knowledge is both practical and ethical. The bees are recognized as the very beings making future harvests possible and not merely obstacles to harvest. This is the heart of responsableng pag-aani or responsible harvesting. It goes beyond producing honey for one season; it is about ensuring that the bees, forests, livelihoods, and stories remain alive for many more seasons that follow the current harvest season. From wild comb to clean honey After the forest and the bees have done their part, and after harvesters have gathered honey responsibly, the next stage of the journey happens at the community level: processing. SAKTAS’ honey remains wild forest honey, gathered from bees that forage freely among the flowers and flowering trees of Palawan’s forests. Its purity comes from its forest origin and from a process that protects this pure quality. Ate Inday remembers a time when honey was primarily gathered for household food. It was squeezed by hand and stored in locally available containers, including traditional forest-based materials such as palm and bamboo. “Kasi noon, ano lang eh, katutubong pagkain lang namin yun.” (Back then, it was simply part of our traditional Indigenous food.) Bee hive spotted during a forest monitoring activity in Aborlan (February 2026) Honey was eaten with cassava, banana, and other available food from the forest. Beeswax and honeycomb also had value in cultural practices, including those connected to planting and prayer. But when honey became part of a community enterprise and began reaching consumers beyond the community, SAKTAS needed a more systematic way to maintain cleanliness, quality, and consumer safety. Through capacity building and technical support involving NTFP-EP Philippines and partner organizations, SAKTAS strengthened its harvesting and processing system. Honeycomb is now handled using cleaner collection methods and brought to the collection center, where trained community members manage the processing. The comb is cut and allowed to drip naturally and not carelessly squeezed. Leaves and other debris are removed. Equipment such as knives and containers are increasingly stainless. Bottles and containers are sterilized. Community Enterprise development team members have received training in hygiene and Good Manufacturing Practices. For Ate Inday, this amount of care and cleanliness in the processing of forest honey reflects the nature of the bees themselves. “Ang bees ay napaka-clean, malinis talaga. Kaya sinisikap din natin na yung honey natin na aani mula sa kanila, pagdating sa baba, yung process ay dapat malinis din.” (Bees are very clean, truly clean. That is why we also make sure that the honey we harvest from them is handled cleanly once it is brought down to the market, the processing should also be clean.) A portrait of Loreta 'Inday' Alsa (May 2026) This is what makes SAKTAS’ forest honey more than a raw product gathered from the wild. It is wild honey handled through community care, strengthened protocols, and disciplined hygienic processing. It carries the story of the bees and the forest into the bottle without losing respect for where it came from. “Gusto namin na makita nila yung totoong may kalidad na honey… dapat inaalam nila kung ano yung proseso ng honey mula doon sa pinanggalingan at kung ito ba ay malinis o hindi.” (We want people to see what truly good-quality honey is… They should learn about the process the honey goes through, from where it comes from to whether it has been handled cleanly.) For consumers, this is an invitation to ask deeper questions. Not only: Is this honey sweet? But: Where did it come from? Were the bees protected in the harvesting process? Was the honey processed cleanly? Did the community that cared for the forest benefit from it? Because not every bottle of honey carries the same intimate relationship with the forest and its inhabitants. From food and culture to community enterprise Forest honey has long been part of Tagbanua life. Through SAKTAS, it also became part of a larger journey toward community voice, livelihood, and recognition. Ate Inday recalls that SAKTAS grew within a wider period of Indigenous organizing in Palawan, when communities sought to respond to discrimination and to the lack of recognition and support they experienced from institutions. Organizing into community associations created a way for Indigenous Peoples to speak collectively about their rights, needs, livelihoods, and future. “Sabi ng pari, mag-buo tayo. Kasi pag nag-buo tayo ng mga samahan sa bawat komunidad, baka mapakinggan tayo ng ating gobyerno, ano man ang mga hinaing natin.” (The priest advised to form a group. Because if we create a group in every community, the government is bound to listen to us, whatever our concerns are.) SAKTAS’ honey enterprise grew from this spirit of collective work. The scale of honey in Sagpangan has also shown what a healthy forest can provide. Ate Inday recalls that in 2013, NATRIPAL alone collected around 12 tons of honey from Sagpangan, aside from honey that moved through other channels. More than a production figure, this was a living measure of a landscape able to sustain flowering trees, bees, harvesters, and community livelihood together. During the current honey season, Ate Inday estimated that around 20 tons of honey may already have come out of the area, indicating the forest’s continued abundance and the scale of livelihood it is able to support. Through forest honey, community members gained an additional livelihood source connected to knowledge they already carried. Honey harvests have helped families meet everyday needs, provide for children, improve homes, and create value from the forest without cutting it down. But because honey is seasonal, challenges like markets, capital, transport, permits, and regulations still affect whether communities can fairly sell what they sustainably harvest. For Indigenous community enterprises, conservation alone is not enough; support systems must also recognize and enable their right to benefit from responsibly managed forest resources. Ate Inday explains the relationship plainly: “Pag bumili talaga ng honey, bukod sa nagbibigay ka ng kabuhayan doon sa mga katutubo, ay ma-sustain talaga yung gubat.” (When you buy honey, you are not only providing livelihood for Indigenous communities; you are also helping sustain the forest.) When consumers support sustainably harvested forest honey, they are not only purchasing a product. They are helping sustain a livelihood that has reason to keep forests healthy, flowers blooming, rivers protected, and bees returning. This is why forest honey matters to the work of NTFP-EP Philippines. It brings together three inseparable areas of community life: Community-Based Livelihoods and Enterprise Development through dignified and ecologically responsible income; Community-Based Conservation and Resource Management through harvesting practices that depend on and encourage healthy forests; and Safeguarding Culture through knowledge, values, traditions, and relationships carried by the Tagbanua community. Forest honey is livelihood, conservation, and culture that is alive in practice. The women who carry honey forward Ate Inday’s story also reveals the work of Indigenous women in sustaining community enterprises. Women are often present in the many careful stages that help a forest product become a dignified community product: organizing, processing, cleanliness, quality control, training, storytelling, marketing, and protecting the meaning behind what is sold. For Ate Inday, working with SAKTAS and other Indigenous community enterprise efforts strengthened not only her knowledge, but also her pride in her own identity. A portrait of Loreta 'Inday' Alsa (May 2026) “Mas proud ako sa pagiging katutubo ko, kasi… marami akong naishe-share na kaalaman, na dapat ganito yung gawin natin, para ang produkto natin mabenta.” (I am prouder than ever for being Indigenous because I have so much knowledge to share, knowledge about how we should practice things so that our products can be sold.) She has walked to communities, supported trainings, shared what she learned, and worked to help Indigenous products become more recognized for their value and quality. In doing so, the journey of forest honey also became part of her own journey as a Tagbanua woman. When asked how she would describe her journey, her answer came with warmth and certainty: “Katutubo ako, kayang-kaya ko.” (I am indigenous, and I am capable.) While a personal statement from Ate Inday, it also holds the strength of many Indigenous women whose knowledge and labor keep community enterprises alive. These women understand that producing a good bottle of forest honey is also an act of caring for relationships with buyers, with family, with community, with bees, and with the forest. In the hands of women like Ate Inday, forest honey becomes a statement: our knowledge has value; our livelihoods deserve support; our forests are alive because communities continue to care for them. What a bottle of forest honey asks of us By the end of the journey, forest honey reaches consumers as something golden, fragrant, and sweet, but behind every bottle of SAKTAS’ wild forest honey, we now know that: There is a flowering tree. There is a river that still runs clean. There are bees that found a home. There are elders whose wisdom continue through the next generation. There are harvesters who know to take only what the hive can give. There are women who help keep the product clean and connected to community life. There is a forest that must remain standing for the journey to begin again. Ate Inday imagines what the bees themselves might ask of people: “Kung ako si bubuyog, wag niyong sirain ang gubat. Lalo’t higit ang mga namumulaklak na mga puno na pinagkukunan namin na mga nectar para maging honey. At ingatan niyo din ang ilog.” (If I were a bee, I would say: do not destroy the forest, especially the flowering trees from which we gather nectar to make honey. And please take care of the river, too.) This May, as we feature forest honey as one of the living non-timber forest products of Indigenous communities in the Philippines, SAKTAS reminds us that honey comes from an interwoven ecosystem of relationships between forest and river, flower and bee, knowledge and respect, culture and livelihood, women and community, harvesting and protection. And to support sustainably harvested community forest honey is to honor this web. When you buy sustainably harvested community forest honey, it is to support sustainable livelihoods, it is to sustain forests standing tall, and it is to recognize that Indigenous Peoples are knowledge holders and forest stewards. Forest honey begins with relationships of bees, blooms, and water. It continues through Indigenous knowledge and responsible hands, and it returns once again as a reason for the forest to remain alive.

On August 23–26, 2024, Higaonon and partner indigenous youth from the Kimangkil–Kalanawan–Sumagaya–Pamalihi landscape gathered at IP Village, Sitio Eva, Brgy. Samay, Balingasag for I-YES Camp Mindanao 2024. The four-day camp created space for intergenerational learning, practical conservation, and youth leadership, anchored in Higaonon culture and care for ancestral domains. Elders opened the camp with a ritual and stories on identity, values, and traditional leadership. Youth groups then shared updates from their CADTs; issues they face, wins they’ve earned, and the roles they already play in safeguarding land, language, and lifeways. Agencies and allies provided inputs: the AFP 58th IB on environmental stewardship and trust-building, the PNP on youth protection and the law, and NTFP-EP Philippines on nature-based solutions (NbS) and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA), connecting culture-rooted practices to climate action on the ground. Preparing the Youth The camp strengthens Indigenous Political Structures and IPOs by preparing youth to participate in decision-making today, not “someday.” Passing down IKSP (indigenous knowledge, systems, and practices) alongside concrete skills for climate action links culture and conservation: elders transmit the why; youth carry the how. This is vital for keeping forests standing in Mindanao, where ancestral domains are the frontlines of biodiversity protection and climate resilience. Key outcomes Clearer youth roles within CADT-level organizing and community activities. Shared understanding of NbS/EbA aligned with Higaonon values and forest governance. Drafted action points toward implementing the Diliman Declaration through UGNAYIN and local youth orgs. Commitments to cultural transmission (language, ritual, dance) and on-ground conservation (tree-planting, landscape monitoring). GLA-supported follow-through with NTFP-EP Philippines for mentorship, documentation, and linking youth initiatives to advocacy and policy arenas. Participating youth included Pamalihi CADT Inc. Youth, MACILAGNON (MAMACILA), MISHTRIOR, MAHITRIGA, HAMOG/AGMIHICU, TAKASAMA-Kawalisan, and the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH). The camp was convened with support from the Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP) and Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA) - Forests for a Just Future, which advances rights-based forest governance and community-led conservation. Through the GLA Programme, NTFP-EP Philippines links local youth action to broader advocacy and policy spaces, ensuring that indigenous perspectives guide decisions affecting forests and ancestral domains. Working with IPS/IPO leaders and community hosts, NTFP-EP PH supported the camp’s convening and facilitation; led sessions on NbS/EbA and youth participation in forest governance; and documented lessons to feed back into ongoing mentorship with local youth organizations and UGNAYIN PH. The focus: culture-first, youth-forward conservation inside ancestral domains.

From July 9–11, 2025, Indigenous youth leaders from across the Philippines gathered in Quezon City for the Indigenous Youth for Environmental Sustainability (I-YES) Camp 2025 , carrying the theme “Sa Ugat Nagmumula: Pagtibayin ang Ugnayan para sa Kinabukasan.” The camp, organized by NTFP-EP Philippines in partnership with the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network (UGNAYIN PH), supported by the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA) - Forests for a Just Future Programme, Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP) and other partners, brought together 25 Indigenous youth from Sierra Madre, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan, Negros Occidental, and Mindanao , representing 12 youth organizations committed to cultural preservation, environmental stewardship, and community empowerment. Why the Camp Mattered For Indigenous youth, gatherings like I-YES Camp are more than workshops or meetings, they are spaces to strengthen identity, reclaim stories, and ensure that the threads of tradition remain unbroken. In the face of climate change, land grabbing, and cultural erosion, these youth are stepping into their roles as inheritors and guardians of ancestral domains . They are both the next generation of leaders, and leaders now actively shaping decisions on land use, forest protection, and cultural governance. Through sessions on digital security, mental wellness, and project management , participants gained tools to protect their communities, manage initiatives, and sustain advocacy work. The mental health workshop , led by the KULIT Foundation, was a first-of-its-kind experience for many participants. Through meditation, active listening, journaling, and creative “Tree of Hope” group art, the youth explored their grief, hopes, and resilience. It was a rare space where they could speak openly about the emotional weight of leadership, the toll of defending their lands, and the need to care for their inner worlds. The session affirmed that mental well-being is not separate from advocacy. It is essential for sustaining the fight for culture and the environment. The camp’s cultural night, landscape updates, and heritage museum visits  grounded these lessons in shared history and lived experience. On the final day, the youth explored the Tandang Sora Women’s Museum , the Bahay Modernismo , and the Manuel L. Quezon Heritage House , encounters that deepened their appreciation for leadership, resistance, and the legacies that shaped the nation. These visits reminded them that their advocacy for forests and ancestral lands is part of a larger story of protecting heritage and building a just future. Youth Voices, Youth Power The camp also served as a safe space to openly share struggles and victories. Many shared facing threats and challenges—like resource scarcity and cultural loss yet each one carried stories of resilience, adaptation, and hope. “Mahalaga ang I-YES Camp 2025 dahil dito naipapakita ng mga kabataang katutubo ang kanilang pinagmulan at mga nakamit nito, na nagsisilbing inspirasyon sa iba,” said Shalyn Dullas  of Sierra Madre. “Dito nahubog ang pag-intindi ko sa kahalagahan ng mga katutubo sa komunidad… We should continue to fight for our rights, preserve our culture and traditions, and protect our environment,” shared Shayne Micah Abis  from Palawan. “Nagbigay ito ng mas malawak na koneksyon at adbokasiya para sa akin at sa aming samahan… mas lalago kami,” reflected Maria Isabel Mamildang  of Mindoro. Leadership for the Land and the People One of the camp’s key milestones was the election of a new Board of Trustees for UGNAYIN PH , ensuring that youth voices remain central in decision-making. The process affirmed the principles of self-governance, accountability, and representation . These are values vital in forest governance and cultural leadership. By the end of the three days, participants had not only honed skills but also deepened their commitment to act as cultural bearers, environmental defenders, and bridge-builders between generations. A Growing Movement As participants returned to their communities, they carried with them more than just knowledge, they carried the weight and joy of knowing they are part of a growing, interconnected movement. Each story shared, each plan made, and each commitment voiced at the camp is a step toward a future where Indigenous culture thrives and forests remain alive for generations to come. The I-YES Camp affirms what has always been true: when Indigenous youth rise together, they keep both the roots and the canopy strong—holding the memory of the land and the vision for its future .

World Wildlife Day | Field Notes from Jaycee Abaquita (NTFP-EP Philippines – Mindanao) World Wildlife Day is the perfect day to highlight and talk about the charismatic stars of the forest. But it’s also a chance to honor something far more powerful: the way Indigenous communities read the land  through species, seasons, waters, and subtle changes that outsiders often miss.   In many indigenous territories, wildlife and plants serve as signals (or indicators) of a healthy ecosystem. They are part of a living system of observation, responsibility, and care.   This reflection from Jaycee Abaquita, NTFP-EP Philippines’ Resource Management Staff from Mindanao, began as a routine field day, then it turned into something more meaningful. He was reminded that life does not need to justify its right to exist. The endangered jade vine and lip vine were documented in the AGMIHICU (Agtulawon Mintapod Higaonon Cumadon) ICCA, locally known as Patagonan daw Bahaw-bahaw .   The pitcher plant was documented in the Pamalihi CADT Inc. ICCA, within the Mt. Sumagaya–Mt. Pamalihi-Balatukan range, part of the ICCA landscape known locally as Pina, Iglalaw daw Bahaw-bahaw . Field Notes from Jaycee (verbatim) "Away from civilization, where you are closer to forests than to people, the beauty of nature truly reveals itself. Every field activity is a wonderful experience in its own way.   But every now and then, what seems to be a simple inventory of Almaciga trees or a routine site survey for a reforestation project turns into something far more meaningful, an unexpected discovery.   It was a rainy day, and the trail was slippery. Along the path, we spotted an endangered jade vine, the Strongylodon pulcher. It was covered in a beautiful blend of white, blue, and a hint of violet. One glance at this remarkable plant is enough to remind any environmentalist why they must keep going. "Extraordinary species exist in nature, and we must do everything in our power to ensure they continue to thrive."   We also encountered a lip vine, Aeschynanthus urdanetensis , radiating vibrant red as it made its presence known despite being a speck among the surrounding greenery. A quiet declaration of its uniqueness. While doing inventory of Almaciga trees, a pitcher plant, Nepenthes alata was spotted along the peak trails of the mountain, hanging delicately yet with purpose. Its elegant form presents a fascinating survival strategy, trapping insects to supplement nutrients from poor soils. In landscapes where competition is thick and the ground offers little, it adapts, persists, and thrives. A reminder that resilience often comes in unexpected forms.  Sometimes, we feel the need to justify a species’ existence, to measure its worth by how useful it is to humans. Is it ornamental? A symbol of beauty? A pollinator? Ecologically valuable? Perhaps all of these."   "But a species does not need to justify its existence to deserve it. To be here, to exist within this complex and interconnected world, is a right in itself." Traditional indicator species: how communities “read” ecosystem health In ecology, an indicator species  is a species whose presence, absence, or condition can reveal something about the broader environment. It’s like habitat quality, water integrity, soil conditions, or disturbance.   In many Indigenous territories, communities hold an even deeper layer of this practice through traditional ecological knowledge : generations of observation that track how species behave, where they thrive, and what their appearance (or disappearance) might mean.   These are often Traditional Indicator Species , which are species that help communities sense: whether a forest is still intact enough to support sensitive life whether water sources and microclimates are stable whether the land is shifting due to extraction, pollution, or climate stress whether certain areas require rest, protection, or specific protocols   This is an applied system of environmental monitoring that is rooted in place, relationship, and responsibility. One species story → one territory protection message Jaycee’s field notes mention three remarkable plants: Jade vine (Strongylodon pulcher) : a forest jewel that depends on the right conditions of shade, humidity, and healthy forest structure. Lip vine (Aeschynanthus urdanetensis) :  small but striking, a reminder that biodiversity includes the easily-missed lives that rely on intact niches. Pitcher plant (Nepenthes alata) : a specialist species with a fascinating survival strategy, adapting to low-nutrient environments in ways Connectio to ICCAs Species survival is inseparable from territory governance of Indigenous peoples. When Indigenous communities protect their territories through their own customary laws, collective decision-making, seasonal practices, and stewardship roles, they are able to protect the conditions that allow life to persist  in their ancestral domains / forest territroies. Why this matters for ICCAs ICCAs (Indigenous Communities Conserved Territories and Areas)  are living territories conserved through community governance, often long before formal conservation systems existed, or what is comonly termed “before time immemorial”.   ICCAs matter because they protect: habitats  (forests, watersheds, sacred sites, wildlife corridors) relationships  (people–land reciprocity, cultural protocols, stewardship) knowledge systems  (including indicator species knowledge and place-based monitoring) continuity  (intergenerational responsibility, enforcement, care)   So when we celebrate wildlife on World Wildlife Day, we are also reminded of a deeper truth: Protecting wildlife means protecting the territories, governance systems, and cultures that keep ecosystems functioning.   Jaycee’s final reflection lands right on the heart : A species does not need to justify its existence.And neither does a living territory need to “prove” its value through extraction to deserve protection. Learn more / take action Read more about ICCAs  and why they matter: https://www.ntfpepphilippines.org/icca Explore the Global ICCA Registry : https://www.iccaregistry.org/ Follow NTFP-EP Philippines for ICCA updates, field stories, and community conservation work.

Heart Month is usually about romance. In Nature’s Heartbeat, it’s about something bigger, wider and wilder:  communities naming what needs protecting, and shaping projects that can manifest that protection forward , starting with trust at the core. Over the past few months, partners in Southern Palawan have been moving through the “project pitching” phase of the Nature’s Heartbeat project: surfacing community-led ideas , then strengthening and aligning  them so they become clearer, more measurable, and rooted in the landscape’s real needs. This is how the first heartbeat of proposals begins : from the ground, rooted on the land. South Palawan at a glance: where biodiversity and communities meet In Southern Palawan, forests still dominate much of the interior, meaning protection and governance matter. However, the edges show increasing pressure (agriculture, built-up areas, and extractive threats), where restoration, strong governance, and sustainable livelihoods  can help reduce risks. Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) overlap with community presence, so conservation here must be locally led . Our North Star (to 2029) Nature’s Heartbeat is building toward a future where Southern Palawan is conserved and sustainably managed through empowered Indigenous peoples, women, youth, and local organisations. It follows two connected pathways toward one shared future: locally-led conservation + trust-based funding. Why planning begins with communities at the helm Nature’s Heartbeat is built on a simple (and quite radical) premise: effective conservation happens when local communities and grassroots organizations have the resources and decision-making space to lead.  That’s why the project leans into trust-based funding : flexible support, reduced red tape, and a reporting relationship that functions more like a two-way conversation than a compliance requirement. In Southern Palawan, this approach matters even more because the conservation questions are community lifelines. They’re about watersheds, sacred sites, livelihoods, forest protection, wildlife, and governance  and how communities defend them amid overlapping pressures. So instead of starting with “Here’s what donors want,” the project pitching process started with: What do you  want to protect and what do you need to protect it well? Beat 1: The Project Pitching Workshop (December 4-5, 2025) During the December gathering, partners were guided through a Project Canvas , which is a structured way to translate community priorities into a clear proposal. It includes a project’s vision and mission, existing efforts to build on, problems and root causes, risks, partners, resources, and intended impact. The workshop was designed like a “marketplace” of ideas, where groups could explore where collaboration could emerge, who could be lead proponents, and what support might be needed (especially for organizations still strengthening their registration, banking, and core systems). Turning ideas into fundable realities Participants also discussed criteria that can strengthen proposals and make them fairer to assess, such as relevance to KBAs, feasibility, influence in the landscape, communication potential, inclusion, and readiness to manage trust-based funding responsibly.   Real conversations, real constraints, real solutions The pitching space surfaced operational realities like deputisation and enforcement pathways (e.g., through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)/ Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD)), and what it takes to make forest protection effective beyond apprehension: information education communication (IEC), monitoring, planning, and coordination with government duty-bearers. Partners also named capacity needs often ignored in conservation project design: financial management, conflict management, security, and mental health/wellness support. Beat 2: Project Pitch Strengthening & Alignment (February 12-13, 2026) A second gathering was held in February to support partners in strengthening and aligning their draft proposals with the Nature’s Heartbeat Theory of Change and the landscape’s priorities. 📌  Note:  Full synthesis notes and refined proposal details from this session are still being consolidated, so we will share more updates once documentation is complete. What’s emerging: initial pipeline proposals (as of the Feb 5 update) Across sessions, several proposal threads have risen to the surface with different entry points, but one shared goal: protect forests and life systems while strengthening community governance and sustainable livelihoods. Initial pipeline ideas include: Community-based forest & wildlife protection (Kensad / proposed Sultan Peak Critical Habitat) Almaciga rainforestation  (Brooke’s Point / Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape) Honey harvesting & marketing  with a strong forest protection link (Quezon) ICCA establishment  covering sacred sites, with strengthened community guarding Transparency note:  These are draft, pipeline proposals  shared to show the direction of the process. Details may still change after PH consolidation, consent processes, and global review/selection. Timeline: how proposals move from ideas to implementation Orientation → Pitching → Polishing → PH Consolidation → Global Review → Implementation How decisions are being made this phase: Align → Select → Resource As we move toward consolidation and selection, we’re using a clear decision lens: ALIGN:  Which proposals best strengthen the two TOC pathways? SELECT:  What support package fits each proposal (grant + capacity support + learning)? RESOURCE:  What readiness needs and safeguards must be in place (consent, governance clarity, roles, basic financial systems)? What’s next The next steps follow a clear pipeline: PH consolidation → global review/selection → implementation , alongside capacity development support where needed. Importantly, this process is not only about who gets funded. It’s about strengthening a landscape ecosystem, where organisations can learn from each other, collaborate, and grow their ability to protect Southern Palawan’s Key Biodiversity Areas over the long term. Follow this heartbeat: Nature’s Heartbeat In a world where funding often rewards tried and tested over raw truth, Nature’s Heartbeat flips the script: start with trust, listen deeply, and build proposals that reflect real places and real people. This Heart Month, the story is simple: Palawan communities are shaping conservation solutions, one proposal heartbeat at a time.

Bridging Voices from the Forest: From the Amazon to Asia—Indigenous Economies, Governance, and Autonomy In the lush mountains of Palawan, Philippines, where trees whisper stories from the ancient past, where rivers carry the island’s history of extraction in its veins, and where the land holds memories of indigenous protection, a gathering unlike any other transpired. From May 5 to 9, 2025 , over 35 Indigenous delegates from across Colombia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines  came together for a South-South learning exchange co-organized by Gaia Amazonas and NTFP-EP (Non-Timber Forest Products-Exchange Programme) , under the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA) partnership. Titled "Bridging Voices from the Forest: From the Amazon to Asia—Indigenous Economies, Governance, and Autonomy" , the exchange became a living testament to heritage handed down by ancestors, as well as the deep, subtle yet powerful patterns connecting Indigenous peoples across continents, in spite of language barriers. It was a meeting of hearts and histories. From dialogues and field visits emerged a recognition between cultures, cutting across oceans and languages, that Indigenous communities share a sacred bond with the land. They are not merely stewards of tropical forests, but they are part of the forests, and it is the forest what shapes their culture, therefore it is part of them. Over five days, together with partners from NTFP-EP and Gaia Amazonas, the participants walked through ancestral forests, sat in community kubos , and listened deeply to each other and the land itself. In Brooke’s Point, Palawan, the Pala’wan  people welcomed the delegates with humility and pride, offering a glimpse into their relationship with Almaciga forest trees. They demonstrated how tree tapping is performed with care, an old practice handed down by their ancestors. Participants witnessed how the Almaciga resin is sorted and valued, with its story interwoven with the Pala’wan  people’s own journey toward sovereignty and autonomy. Amazonian delegates shared how chili is both livelihood and lifeline. Karen  representatives from Myanmar reflected on their struggle for recognition in a country that disregards their Indigenous identity. In each shared experience, threads of deep ecological wisdom from the land weaved a tapestry of Indigenous economies, governance, and autonomy that defied borders. Ate Inday Alsa , a Tagbanua leader and staff of NTFP-EP Philippines, shared: “Mula sa mga bahaginan ng mga karanasan at kaalaman ay ang pagkakatugma ng mga kultura ng bawat katutubo at pagpapahalaga sa kagubatan, pagpapahalaga ng mga paniniwala ng bawat tribu.”  (From the sharing of experiences and knowledge emerged the harmony among the cultures of each Indigenous group and their shared reverence for the forest and the beliefs of every ethnic group.) From this exchange emerged a mutual appreciation of diverse practices and a realization that Indigenous peoples around the world are living different versions of the same story. They are resisting extractive systems, asserting self-governance, and building economies that honor their cultural principles and ecological relationships. These are not economies of exploitation, but of abundance. They are not alternative economies; they are ancestral heritage. In participant circles, plenary sessions, and informal conversations, the recurring theme was interdependence – between people and forests, between the past and current generations, between one community and another. These connections are affirmations that ecological balance and indigenous cultural well-being are inseparable. One of the most memorable during the exchange was the visit from Indigenous-led enterprise, Almaciga Resin Cooperative SPABP (Samahan ng mga Palawano ng Amas, Brooke’s Point). Their visit provided powerful insight into how communities in Palawan are reclaiming control over their resources, their narratives, and their futures. Youth-led Forest monitoring, indigenous classification systems, and community-defined pricing models all demonstrated what sovereignty looks like in practice. Beyond showcasing best practices, the exchange offered a rare space for reflection: What does it mean to live well on this Earth? How do we protect our sacred relationships with the forest, with water, with food, and with each other? What can we learn from each other’s struggles and victories? The answers came in different forms. They were expressed through song, showcased through offerings from Amazon chili, with an exchange of culture, knowledge, and hugs in place of cash. They were revealed in the quiet dignity of elders who have seen generations rise and fall but whose commitment to life and land has never wavered. As we await the release of the exchange's main video "Bridging Voices from the Forest" , one thing is clear: the bridges built in Palawan between two Southern continents will endure. They will live on in new friendships and alliances formed across oceans and continents, and in the renewed spirit of communities who know they are not alone. This exchange was a remembrance. People are bridged by our love for this planet. Indigenous wisdom does not disappear, but it evolves with each new generation, in culture exchanges, in relationships blossoming, and each act of love that protects our common home.

Trusting Communities to Keep Forests Alive On September 18, community leaders and conservation groups from across South Palawan gathered at Maruyog Ridge for the Nature’s Heartbeat Orientation, a necessary step before the beginning of a four-year programme that channels flexible, trust-based support to locally led conservation in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Palawan. NTFP-EP Philippines, as the Palawan hub, convened the session to align partners around a simple proposition: when we trust communities and fund what they know, forests and cultures are kept alive. This #NationalEnvironmentalAwarenessMonth, looking back at the orientation is a reminder that environmental awareness is also about the people who have conserved landscapes and have kept them healthy. This typhoon season in the Philippines, we highlight the importance of the forests that absorb carbon and soften climate shocks and the communities protecting and restoring them, rather than chasing “development” that clears them away. What Nature’s Heartbeat brings Nature’s Heartbeat (NH) supports about 30 local conservationists across seven landscapes in five countries from June 2025 to May 2029, with Palawan as a core site in the Philippines. Two pathways drive the change: (1) strengthen frontline conservationists; and (2) help shift the wider funding system toward trust-based practices. Over time, the programme aims to grow locally led outcomes and nudge donors to match flexibility with accountability. Trust-based funding (TBF) is central here: multi-year, largely unearmarked support with light, learning-oriented reporting; open feedback loops; and proportionate due diligence. The goal is not to remove accountability but to relocate it toward peer learning, transparency, and outcomes that matter on the ground.   Who joined the orientation and where they work Participants came from indigenous peoples’ organizations (IPOs), people’s associations, and NGOs active across Narra, Quezon, Brooke’s Point, Rizal, Aborlan, Dumaran, Araceli, and El Nido. Below is a snapshot of groups and coverage: Samahan ng Katutubong Palawan sa Kalatagbak – Quezon (SKPSK): Sites involve Kalatagbak, Quezon; works around reforestation in watershed areas Nagkakaisang Kabataang Katutubo ng Narra (NKKN): Covers 11 barangays in Narra; work involves IEC and youth organizing Katangan Ancestral Domain ng 6 barangay ng Brookes Point (KAD6) : Works in Kabatangan area (Mainit, Pangobilian, Tubtub, Amas, Oring-Oring, Saraza); Does ADSDPP/CADT work Samahan ng mga Palawano Sa Amas Brooke's Point (SPABP) : Works in Amas, Brooke’s Point area; Initiatives involve almaciga trading, coco spread, reforestation, water system  Pengebiyagan It mge Pela'wan Deges Ato' Et Isugod - Quezon (PPDI) : Works in Isugod, Quezon; Efforts inolve wild honey and bantay-CADT patrolling Center for Sustainability Philippines (CSPH) : Works in Bataraza to El Nido sites; involving protected area work, documentation trainings, IEC Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Advocates, Inc. (PBCAI) : Works in Dumaran & Araceli; efforts involve aquaculture, organic farming, mangrove rehabilitation Nagkakaisang Tribu ng Palawan (NATRIPAL) : Works Island-wide (with Batak, Palaw’an, Tagbanua communities); work revolves around ADSDPP/CADT, flora/fauna work, culture, marine/terrestrial nurseries, handicrafts, honey Women’s craft groups (e.g., (Samahan ng mga Kababaihang Tagbanua sa Narra (SAKATAN), Negsembateng Kelelibunan Et Kepelawanan Ese't Association - Brookes Point (NKEKEA)) : Groups create handicrafts, natural products, and has initiatives in native tree reforestation in Narra, Kabatangan, and BICAMM barangays Narra IPO / Bukid-Baw Dagat / Nagkakaisang Tribu ng Tina- Tina, Culandanom, Aborlan (NATRITI) / MN-Bunog / NTD / Samahan ng Maaasahang Kabataan (SAMAKA)   / Samahan ng mga katutubong Tagbanua sa Sagpangan-Sagpangan, Aborlan (SAKTAS) , and others: Works across Narra, Aborlan, Brooke’s Point, Rizal; Does monitoring of ancestral domains, bantay-CADT, reforestation, livelihoods, and IEC against destructive projects       What surfaced during the activities The group worked in two landscape clusters: the Victoria Anepahan Mountain Range  (VAMR) and the Mt. Mantalingahan Protected Landscape  (MMPL), where priority actions were identified. Shared themes across landscapes include the following: Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) / Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) : finalize plans, continue CADT processing, and set up a technical working group for documentation; coordinate surveys (e.g., Isugod) and validation. Enforcement : deputize wildlife enforcers (esp. Tagbanua), joint patrols via bantay-CADT, trainings on forest/wildlife laws, species ID, safe handling, and first aid. Reforestation : seedling collection, nurseries (including fruit trees), and transplanting; per-organization nursery targets. Research & Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP) : IKSP documentation led by NATRIPAL/NKKN, plus Rapid Biodiversity Assessments with CSPH. Livelihoods : resource assessments; technical skills training; marketing linkages (e.g., display centers) for honey, handicrafts, pandan/rattan, and other non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Women & Youth : organizational development, intergenerational dialogue, documentation and comms, and social media campaigns. VAMR highlights  included CBST design and capacity-building (NATRIPAL, PBCAI), joint enforcement training, and educational campaigns, while MMPL highlights added traditional handicrafts, nursery establishment (akapulko/almaciga/rattan/pandan), aquaculture pilots, production areas, and IPRA law education under Women & Youth empowerment.   Key discussion points Partners named practical needs that trust-based support can support this year: completing ADSDPPs, accelerating CADT processes, strengthening bantay-CADT and community patrols, supporting research and IKSP, and creating livelihood pathways tightly linked to forest care (e.g., honey, native nurseries). Participants also raised system constraints, including slow titling and Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) implementation, uneven budget allocations, and safety risks for community advocates, which underscored the value of flexible, tranche-based funding paired with proportionate due diligence, peer accountability, and clear integrity protocols.   NH’s Theory of Change     How partner selection will work NH will use an open, fair, landscape-fit process: initial mapping and shortlisting (with a lightweight independent expert), interviews/consultations that may include community references, and a final selection by the hub with fit-for-purpose due diligence. The aim is a balanced mix, where indigenous peoples, women, and youth are considered; toegther with each group’s varied capacities   Why this matters In today’s funding landscape, local organizations are facing compounding pressures: climate disruptions, extraction, and shrinking civic space, while heavy paperwork keeps grassroots from timely support. NH’s Theory of Change addresses this by providing flexible funding plus coaching, peer learning, and visibility for local results. As forests keep drawing down carbon and sheltering life, perhaps the most resilient move is to trust the communities that are already doing conservation and biodiversity work.

Paving the way for rural and Indigenous women to lead in forest governance This International Day of Rural Women, we honor women in indigenous and local communities who keep forests standing through daily care, hard choices, and increasingly, their seats at decision-making tables. From 2024: a gathering of courage In December 2024, NTFP-EP Philippines convened the National IP Women’s Assembly in Antipolo and Daraitan, a space for the organization’s women partners from multiple landscapes to ground in rights, reproductive health, and shared organizing. Talks included gender, intersectionality, and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). The last day took place at the Dumagat camp and gave space for reflection on ties to land and collective purpose. Indigenous women and women from local communities named challenges and barriers: early/child marriage, limited participation in formal and customary leadership, and violence. Through this, a path was paved into building stronger organizations and plans together. 2025: turning voice into presence in governance Fast forward to September 4–6, 2025 in Sta. Mesa, Manila, where “Kababaihan, May SAY Ka! 2025 – Tinig, Lakas, Gawa: Sama-samang Pagtindig ng Kababaihang Katutubo” focused on one thing: inclusion that counts in local governance. 20 women leaders across five landscapes gathered for three days of assessment, policy grounding, and concrete planning around representation in Local Special Bodies (LSBs) and People’s Councils. The Assembly opened with reflections from the past: What shifted since 2024? Across Aklan, Negros, Palawan, Sierra Madre, Oriental Mindoro and Northern Mindanao, women reported more community organizing and livelihood work, but underscored gaps in women’s leadership seats, confidence to speak, and Local Government Unit (LGU) support, especially when decisions involving forests and ancestral domains were on the line. A session with the Department of the Interior and Local Government – Bureau of Local Government Supervision (DILG-BLGS) walked through the latest memorandum circulars on Civil Society Organization (CSO) accreditation and LSB representation (MC 2021-054, 2025-022, 2025-060) and emphasized women’s mandated representation under the Magna Carta of Women. Resource persons were Ms. Bernice D. Tarnate (Local Government Operations Officer IV, DILG–BLGS) and Ms. Patricia Schene M. Trinidad (Project Development Officer II, DILG–BLGS; National Accreditation Focal Person, DILG Central Office). The participants immediately translated into practical questions about access, timing, and real influence in councils that decide on budgets, services, and land use. Testimonies from women already sitting in LSBs gave light to how advocacy opens doors, but tokenism and resource constraints still limit voices at crucial moments. What rural/IPLC women surfaced and what they are asking for By design, the Assembly consolidated participants’ on-the-ground experience into a shortlist of institutional recommendations to improve inclusion and accountability. Priority concerns included: Late or day-of invitations to council meetings “Approve-only” budget sessions with no deliberation Political influence over CSO seats Lack of transport funds that practically exclude rural/IPLC women from attendance Corresponding recommendations called for: 1–2 weeks’ advance notice Active roles (and voting where applicable) for CSO representatives Dedicated IP women’s representation Basic logistical support for community delegates Revitalizing People’s Councils beyond elections The 2025 Assembly’s internal planning echoed these requests. Landscape groups named concrete next steps, including pursuing CSO accreditation, preparing documents and board resolutions ahead of calls, mentoring first-time women representatives, and aligning Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) priorities with LGU planning schedules so that forest and livelihood needs reach the budget table. Forests as foundations Weaving governance work is the daily reality of forest care and pressure. Reforestation, honey and agroforestry livelihoods, threats from mining, dams, and plantation expansion; and the steady labor of women holding families and communities together were central. Palawan teams linked LSB participation to school and health support in IP areas, Sierra Madre leaders connected inclusion debates to Kaliwa Dam resistance and ADSDPP updates; Visayas and Mindoro women flagged the need for financial literacy and program access for women’s groups to steward resources with autonomy and transparency. All are crucial to sustaining community-led forest management. The quiet work behind the scenes Throughout these assemblies and the months in between, NTFP-EP Philippines has taken a steady, back-of-house role: creating spaces where women can practice public voice safely, translating policy into plain language, pairing new leaders with mentors, and coordinating with LGUs so community evidence meets formal processes at the right time. It’s not about speaking for women but about nudging systems and opening doors, so that women’s autonomy, confidence, and inclusive leadership can take root and stand on their own. On the third day, the Assembly also carved time for museum visits in Manila and Quezon City, honoring memory, culture, and the long arc of women’s stewardship of land and community. Seeing histories and living traditions in one place affirmed why inclusion in formal governance matters. Heritage is held in hands, spoken in stories, and sustained in forests. By the end of the day, the group joined a gentle yoga and breathwork practice to ground, release tension, and return to the body. Where we’re headed The Assembly discussions closed with a shared visioning with “Puno ng Pangarap” (Tree of Dreams). It is a vision wall of roots, branches, and fruits, where inclusive governance was named. Fruits included accredited women’s groups, seats in LSBs, better coordination with CSO desks, and tangible support for forest-friendly livelihoods. It’s a simple dream: when IPLC women are recognized as decision-makers in the formal spaces that shape their territories, forests win because the people who know them best finally get to help decide their own futures. Partnership matters: a note of gratitude Spotlighting and uplifting gender across NTFP-EP Philippines’ landscapes has been strengthened with support from the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA), whose program emphasis on rights-based conservation aligns with this women-centered direction towards accountable, community-rooted governance. This journey is far from over, but the direction is clear. It is owned by the women themselves. On this International Day of Rural Women, we honor the women who organize, testify, plant, negotiate, and nurture families, communities, and forests. May the “SAY” of women keep shaping what is fulfilled and seen in forest governance.

How UGNAYIN PH and the Green Livelihoods Alliance helped a young leader claim her voice for culture and forests We interviewed Lovely Villegas , newly elected Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH) Treasurer and a Dumagat-Remontado  indigenous youth leader from Quezon, Sierra Madre, during the I-YES Camp 2025 last July. Lovely’s journey began close to home: in July 2021  she joined her local IP youth organization Katutubong Kabataan na Umuugat sa Kabundukan sa Sierra Madre (UGBON), formerly Save Sierra Madre Youth Volunteers Organization (SSMYVO), and soon served as Information, Education & Communication (IEC) Committee Head . When SSMYVO became a member of UGNAYIN PH in 2022, Lovely’s circle widened; by November 2023 she was already serving at the national level as UGNAYIN PH BOT Officer and Communications Committee Lead . Former UGNAYIN PH Treasurer MJ Pinuhan  sat in our conversation. The mood swung from light to heavy, in between giggles and hushed voices. We found ourselves laughing at inside jokes but also falling into soft pauses. Lovely would often hesitate for a moment, eyes searching for the right words, and then landing on them together with shy nods and smiles, affirming her statements. This carefulness became the anchor of our conversatoin and the arc of Lovely’s journey, her gradual growth. From quiet to determined voice “ Ngayon, namulat ako na kailangan kong maging boses. Kung hindi kami kikilos, sino pa? Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa? ” (Now I’ve woken up to the need to be a voice. If we don’t act, who will? If not now, when?) Lovely didn’t begin as an outspoken youth. For years, she waited for permission before speaking. What first shifted was context. UGNAYIN PH’s camps and meetings made offered real practice and made room for trying, stumbling, and trying again. There was learning with documentation teams, youth meetings; mistakes were simply opportunities to learn. “ May safe space na nagturo sa akin magtiwala. ” (There was a safe space that taught me to trust.) This opened Lovely’s heart to trust again: a safe container, a seed for her voice to grow steadier.   Skills that serve the community “ Bukod sa comms (communications), natutunan ko ‘yung paggawa ng resolution at letters.   Ngayon nagagamit ko sa pamayanan at sa cluster IPO (Indigenous People’s Organization) bilang secretary.”   (Beyond comms, I learned to draft resolutions and letters. I use these in our community and our cluster IPO as secretary.) What started as curiosity grew into a full communications practice, and eventually, service. From taking photos at activities to video editing and even graphics. Each new tool and skill contributed.   She grins when teased about leveling up. The elders noticed too, now relying on the youth for documentation. “ Malaki na ang tiwala nila sa amin, lalo sa dokumentasyon. ”  (They trust us much more now, especially with documentation.) Here, we dug deep into the soil to place the seed. A soil where her voice grows into skill and where trust is earned.   Becoming at home in her own name There was a tender heaviness when she spoke about school. “ Hanggang college, binu-bully ako dahil katutubo ako at sa features ko. ” ( I was bullied until college because I am indigenous and because of my features.) The laughter in our interview did not bury the truth. Lovely’s confidence didn’t magically sprout; it had been rebuilt, and it continues to be rebuilt, alongside indigenous youth peers who mirror her own identity and dignity back to her; through advocacies tied to their forests and their land. One can hear the reconstruction in her voice’s rhythm. Instead of shrinking and letting shame narrow her world, Lovely chose to be open and to widen her world, to speak, learn, and widen her perspective. While she had been careful, her voice still showed groundedness and courage, showing up despite the fear. It signaled another pivot: from victim to defender.   What opened her eyes We asked her what worries her youthful spirit and the answers came quickly. In fact, there were too many issues. She’s concerned about projects cutting into ancestral land – large dams, windmill projects inside dense forests, road development that invite extractive industries, a once pristine river turned brown in Daraitan where her father once guided tourists. At the center of it all is one clear thread – that indigenous identity depends on the forests: “ Kapag nawala ang gubat, wala nang katutubo. ”   (If the forests disappear, so too will indigenous people.) Now the story moves outward: from the seed being planted to sprouting a fresh bud. Outward vigilance, seeing how place, culture, and future are interwoven. Sierra Madre isn’t just backdrop; it’s the country’s last great spine of forest. Landscape profiles count over 3,500 recorded species here , about 45% of all species in the Philippines and at least 58% of them are endemic to this mountain range. It also contains dozens of protected areas, and its northern part, the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park, is described as the largest protected area in the country and richest in genetic, species, and habitat diversity. These are the living margins that keep communities like Lovely’s fed, watered, and sheltered. Against this richness sits a familiar pressure. The New Centennial Water Source–Kaliwa Dam  slices into the Sierra Madre corridor and the Kaliwa River system. Civil society monitoring and news reports flag risks that include submerging about 291 hectares of forest, impacting habitat for around 126 species, and raising downstream flood risk for as many as 100,000 residents. This is on top of displacing Dumagat-Remontado families who have long stewarded these lands and waters. The Save Sierra Madre Network Alliance estimates around 1,465 families stand directly in the path. Project updates in 2024–2025 show the build pressing on, with the NEDA Board approving a cost hike from ₱12.2B to ₱15.3B this year. In 2022, the DENR briefly held the project’s ECC; by March 2024, authorities were reporting construction milestones again .   What GLA and UGNAYIN PH made possible “ Kapag may nag-post ng isyu, shine-share ng iba. May espasyo din makapagbigay ng mungkahi.   ( When someone posts about an issue, others share it. There is space to offer suggestions.) Through the Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA) and UGNAYIN PH, Lovely found both strength and stance. With practical training in writing, documentation, governance, and a peer network that stands by her, her awareness was woven into the collective. She met connection, solidarity, and mentoring. UGNAYIN PH reframed leadership for her: it’s less about volume and more about presence; less perfection, more practice; less solitary, more collective. It’s where the youth leader learned to try, to miss, and try again.   A culture to return to “ICCA,” she stated with confidence. “Kung hindi idodokumento at poprotektahan ang kultura, baka hindi na matutunan ng kabataan. Dito, may mababalikan sila.” ( ICCA. If we don’t document and protect culture, the youth may not learn it. With ICCAs, there’s something to return to.) When we asked which advocacy gripped her heart the most, she didn’t even blink – ICCA (Indigenous Community Conserved Areas.) For Lovely, conserving land is not an abstract concept. The bill is important to her because it anchors her to her ancestral domain. For her, it is lived reality and experience, the life where her father taught plant medicine, her people’s story where the wind is first felt in the trees, the river whose colors mark the seasons. Here, transformation has become purpose. The sprout is beginning to grow buds, the voice of a leader is bending towards where the sun is, a purpose in defense of land and culture.   Mentoring the next ones “Ginagawa nila akong ate-ate. Humihingi sila ng gabay sa gawain,”  she says, half-shy, half-proud.   (They treat me like an older sister. They ask for guidance with tasks.) It’s easy to miss how radical Lovely’s transformation had been. A young woman whose own identity was used to silence and ridicule her, but now she is guiding new officers in her community organization find their footing; the youth who used to sit outside meetings now drafting the documents that move decisions forward. Here, Lovely’s journey is akin to buds now spreading, pollinating. From “I can speak” to “We can lead.”   A life she’s building toward “ Pinagpe-pray ko ang stable job na gusto ko, na kaya ko, na hindi ako mapi-pressure.”   ( I pray for a stable job that I like, one that I can sustain without too much pressure.) No performance here. Just honest timing, capacity, and care for self. What does a good future feel like to her? “ Pangarap kong magkaroon ng peaceful life. ” ( I dream of a peaceful life.) She dreams of ordinary peace. Fewer fights for survival; more calm days when the hardest choice is what to harvest together with the land instead of battles.   Lovely’s journey isn’t a clean before-and-after and it is far from complete. It is much like harvest, where if one tends to the land, it gifts abundance. From safety, voice, skill, trust, purpose, mentorship, and now a livable future, and hopefully not in the too distant future. Her skill and spirit, fear and practice, community and courage; all of these are tended to with the strength of other youth at UGNAYIN PH , the guidance and mentorship of NTFP-EP Philippines, and the support of GLA . She wasn’t just “capacitated”; she continues a life where she is reclaiming and rebuilding her voice.  Her skills / gifts are now in service of the forests, her culture, her community, and for a future where Agta / Dumagat-Remontado youth can still come home to who they are, amongst lush and peaceful forests. And because September 26 is Save Sierra Madre Day , we carry this story with intention. The day was proclaimed to mark the lessons of Typhoon Ondoy from 2009. It is a reminder that forests are not mere scenery but also protectors. They are flood buffers, water towers, climate shields. On this week each year, calls to “Save Sierra Madre”  echo a simple truth that Lovely names: if the forests go, so do life. Our role is clear: stand with the forests and with the indigenous peoples who keep it alive.   “ Magpatuloy lang kayo,” admonishes Lovely .   May mga struggle, pero kaya ng mga katutubong kabataan ang pinapaniwalaan nilang kaya nila.”   (Keep going. There will be struggles, but indigenous youth can do what they believe they can do.)

How UGNAYIN PH and the Green Livelihoods Alliance helped a young leader find her voice for culture and forests Monitte Lantas introduces herself plainly – “ Ako si Monitte Lantas. Isang katutubong Tagbanwa mula sa Bayan ng Narra, Probinsya ng Palawan . (I am Monitte Lantas, an indigenous Tagbanwa from the town of Narra in the Province of Palawan.)” – but the path behind those words carries a steady, expansive story. From a young woman who once felt shy to speak her people’s language, she is now an organizer, public servant, and youth mentor determined to protect Palawan’s forests and keep her Tagbanwa culture alive for the next generation.   Roots and First Sparks Asked what being katutubo  means, Monitte points to pride and practice: immersing in one’s culture and traditions and knowing how to carry them beyond the community. “ Ang pagiging isang katutubo ay pagmamalaki. Ito ay kung paano mo ipakilala ito sa labas ng komunidad mo. (Being indigenous is about pride. It’s about how you carry and introduce it beyond your community.)” “Ang pagiging isang katutubo ay pagmamalaki. Ito ay kung paano mo ipakilala ito sa labas ng komunidad mo.” Her first model of this courage is close to home, her aunt who fearlessly fights for and protects, and one who insisted that women speak up even when it wasn’t customary. “ Nangunguna talaga siya.  (She truly leads from the front.),” Monitte recalls. That example is the template she keeps returning to as she learns to lead.   Waking Up to Deeper Issues Monitte’s political awakening didn’t happen overnight. It sharpened as civil society partners entered their community. Among them is NTFP-EP Philippines and Bantay Kita, which opened her eyes to the layered struggles inside ancestral domains. “ Akala ko dati basura lang yung problema. Pero nung nakikibahagi na ako, may mas malalim pa pala sa loob ng komunidad namin.  (I used to think that waste was the only problem. But when I started getting involved, I realized there were deeper issues within our community.)” “Akala ko dati basura lang yung problema. Pero nung nakikibahagi na ako, may mas malalim pa pala sa loob ng komunidad namin.”   Finding a Home in UGNAYIN PH When the Ugnayin National Indigenous Youth Network Philippines (UGNAYIN PH began forming, it naturally fit. What kept Monitte engaged wasn’t just structure, it was also through the practice of showing up. “ Hindi naman magpapatuloy ‘yun kung wala yung active participation  (It wouldn’t have been sustainable without active participation.),” she says. UGNAYIN PH mirrored her community’s needs and exposed her to peers from various regions grappling with similar issues. It was fertile ground to grow her voice. She’s frank about the shift: “ Hindi ako ganun ka-good leader. Iniisip ko na ‘kaya na ng mga matatanda yan.’ Pero dahil sa UGNAYIN, mas nahubog yung kakayahan ko. Kailangan mo ring bumoses.  (I wasn’t much of a good leader. I used to think, ‘the elders can handle that already.’ But because of UGNAYIN, my abilities were developed. You also need to speak up.” In that space, she learned that youth concerns need to be said aloud, so that elders can recognize and act on them. “Dahil sa UGNAYIN, mas nahubog yung kakayahan ko. Kailangan mo ring bumoses.” The peer-to-peer space mattered. During early online sessions (pandemic days), she watched fellow youth leader Kristel “Boniknik” Quierrez showing relentless action and thought, sana ako rin ganito (I wish I was like her) .  That admiration became inspiration. “ Through exchange of ideas, nakukuha ko kung paano ko ipagpapatuloy, kung paano rin yung gagawin ko sa loob ng komunidad ko.  (Through exchanging ideas, I learn how to keep going, and what I should do within my own community.”   GLA’s Backbone and Why It Matters Many of the exchanges, leadership spaces, and community-based learning that shaped Monitte’s journey sit within NTFP-EP Philippines’ work under the Green Livelihoods Alliance – Forests for a Just Future (GLA) . By resourcing local organizing and inter-community learning, GLA helps networks like UGNAYIN PH convene, train, and sustain young indigenous leaders, so the work of safeguarding cultures and forest conservation doesn not become a solitary climb, but a shared or communal ladder.   From Student to Public Servant Today, Monitte carries her advocacy into formal governance. She serves as a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) member and currently leads her local Nagkakaisang Kabataang Katutubo ng Narra (NKKN) youth council. She didn’t plan to enter politics, she admits, but realized local power can, and should, carry indigenous youth agendas. “ Bakit hindi natin ipasok ito sa lokal na level para marinig, makita, at mabigyan din ng solusyon ? (Why don’t we bring this to the local level so it can be heard, seen, and actually addressed?)”   The Frontlines in the “Last Frontier” From Southern Palawan, Monitte watches mining applications pile up and participation remain thin, with only about 10–20% of indigenous youth actively engaging on environmental issues in her municipality. She wants that number to grow. Her core advocacy is clear: environmental protection in a province famed as the country’s “last ecological frontier,” and active youth participation so the work outlives the current wave of leaders. “ Ayaw ko na masira ito. Baka sa susunod wala na  (I don’t want this to be destroyed. (I’m afraid) it might disappear soon,” she says of Palawan’s forests, expressing hope that many more youth will follow as she ages out of the “youth lens.”   Culture as Daily Practice, Not Performance Monitte’s longing is as cultural as it is political. She wants Tagbanwa practices to be lived within the community and not staged only during Indigenous Peoples (IP) Month. “ Sana yung mas culture-based talaga sa loob lang ng komunidad – nakikita, ginagawa . (I wish it’s more culture-based and something visible and practiced within the community.)” She’s pushing for School of Living Tradition (SLT) opportunities with elders, and, if needed, she will be the first student. This sits beside a personal transformation where she once felt shy to speak Tagbanwa. Now, she answers her elders in their mother tongue, confidently returning one conversation at a time. “ Nawawala yung essence ng pagiging katutubo kapagka hindi siya nakikita. Gusto ko na nakikita siya na, ‘ah ako, katutubong Tagbanwa talaga ako .’ You need to be proud. (The essence of being indigenous fades when it isn’t visible. I want it to be seen like, ‘ah, I truly am a Tagbanwa indigenous person.’ You need to be proud.)” “ Nawawala yung essence ng pagiging katutubo kapagka hindi siya nakikita. Gusto ko na nakikita siya na, ‘ah ako, katutubong Tagbanwa talaga ako .’ You need to be proud.   Dreams with a Paper Trail In the near term, Monitte plans to stay rooted in her youth organization for two to three years to strengthen its foundations, secure sustainable funding, and document their Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) so younger Tagbanwa have something concrete to inherit. “Culture is changing, kaya habang maaga pa, nado-document na siya . (While it’s still early, it should be documented.”   A Message to the Next Wave of IP Youth Advocates She leaves a note in Tagbanwa first, then in Filipino: youth shouldn’t be afraid of the problems in the community, there are many solutions, and it’s on them to take up the challenge. Monitte proudly speaks in her own native language: "Ingka Tagbanwa. erog ko nga angga sira me lam. Ing un mga problema asan kat komunidad nga yung unay magka anoan nira. Aga sira me lam ka, dakil nga problema magka anwan tami et komunidad. Taka may mga solusyon taming mga mabuhat na ga bilang mga kabataan. So, ing ako, magka buhat koy mga at kay mga bagay, so, erog ko nga na eat mga kabataan na susunod, ay magka ruot naga. Arot nira yung paano nira ma-solusyonan yung mga problema et komunidad. Baw ing paano nga makapagpatuloy bilang mga kabataan." “ Huwag tayong matakot. Gawin nating inspirasyon yung mga issues o challenges sa komunidad. I-challenge natin yung sarili natin: ‘kaya kong gawin itong bagay na ’to.’ (Let’s not be afraid. Let’s make the issues or challenges in the community our inspiration. Let’s challenge ourselves: ‘I can do this.’)” “Gawin nating inspirasyon yung mga issues o challenges sa komunidad.” UGNAYIN PH  is the national indigenous youth network where Monitte serves as Secretary; it’s been a key space for her leadership journey. From peer learning, to exchanges, and visible roles that helped raise her voice, NTFP-EP Philippines, under the Green Livelihoods Alliance – Forests for a Just Future, supports these community-rooted processes. Culture and forests are protected by those who live with them, and leadership keeps regenerating from within.

Aklan’s Living Tradition and How Communities Keep It Alive What Aklan Piña Is and Where It Lives Piña is heritage you can wear. It is a handwoven cloth made from pineapple leaf fibers—light, sheer, and proudly Filipino. In Aklan, Haboe nga Piña is a living tradition: skills passed within families, taught hand-to-hand, and rooted in place. Each piece carries memory, livelihood, and cultural identity. From Leaf to Luminous Cloth Aklan Piña begins in the field. The process is painstaking. Farmers harvest pineapple leaves, selecting those with the right maturity and fiber length. Mature leaves are scraped to extract fine filaments, then washed and dried. Nearly invisible fibers joined to create continuous yarn. Hours become meters; meters become heirlooms. After careful counting and aligning, weavers set the loom’s rhythm; hours become meters, and meters become heirlooms. Finishing, embroidery, edges, and treatment; it all adds the makers’ signature of place. UNESCO Recognition and Local Safeguarding In 2023, Aklan Piña Handloom Weaving was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (18.com), an international nod to what communities have long known. Recognition brings visibility and responsibility. In Aklan, local measures (Kalibo 2019-049; Province of Aklan 2021-010) and a community-led safeguarding plan strengthen the transmission, protection, and promotion of the craft through events and festivals. NTFP-EP Philippines: Partner in Safeguarding Together with Aklan local partners, NTFP-EP Philippines helps keep the thread alive. We support: Transmission & training: workshops, exchanges, and learning spaces; Livelihoods & markets: community-based enterprise development and fair market linkages; Cultural visibility: documentation, exhibits, and feature stories. These efforts help ensure the next generation can learn, work with dignity, and carry the craft forward. How to Honor the Weave When you choose Piña, you become part of the story. Choose pieces from recognized groups and verified sellers. Credit the artisans by name wherever possible. Support cultural education and apprenticeships. Share the story of the cloth you wear—how it was made, where it came from, and who made it. “Made in the Philippines” is more than a label, it is a lineage.