BORACAY TRIBAL COTTAGES;
TRIBAL ORGANIC RESTAURANT
By Manny Piñol
Boracay Island – It was a gloomy day yesterday in the beautiful vacation island but Ati Tribal leader Delsa Justo said they felt like the heavens opened up for the first time in their lives as government reached out to them to make amends for the years of neglect and lift them up from poverty.
The Ati Tribe of Boracay Island, including the women and fishermen’s groups, received a bonanza of government support from the administration of President Rody Duterte which included:
– Ten units of fiberglass fishing boats complete with fishing gear and engine from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ FB Pagbabago Program;
– P1.950-M from the Department of Agriculture’s Survival and Recovery (SURE) Program to support farmers and fishermen in distress handled by the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC);
– Training in organic vegetable farming including farm tools and seeds to be planted in a portion of the 2.1-hectare Ancestral Domain Area of the Ati Tribe in Barangay Manok-manok from the Agricultural Training Institute;
– A solar-powered Smart Greenhouse which will produce high-value vegetables for the hotels, resorts and restaurants in the island;
– An organic restaurant which will be established along the road in Barangay Manok-manok to be operated by the Ati Tribe and their children with the technical support from ATI;
– A Tribal Vacation Cottages fronting the beach where tourists who would like to have a unique experience could stay in cottages made out of indigenous building materials, take a bath using “tabo” and earthen jars using organic soap made out of Gumamela flowers and take a sip of the “Rice Coffee” called “Sara-sara” by the natives;
– A Solar-Powered Irrigation System which will draw water from the underground for drinking, watering of their plants and to supply the restaurant and Tribal Cottages with water.
The planned Dairy Goat Farm had to be abandoned and will instead be done in the Panay Mainland with other Ati Tribal Groups handling it because I determined that there was not enough forage in the island to feed the goats.
The fishing boats and the farm tools and seeds were turned over yesterday right after the consultation with the Ati Tribe and the women’s and fishermen’s groups in the Ati Village in Barangay Manok-manok.
The other projects which were proposed by the DA and accepted by the Ati Tribal People like the Tribal Organic Restaurant, Tribal Cottages, Solar-Powered Smart Greenhouse and the Solar-Powered Irrigation System will soon start construction with funds coming from both the private sector and government.
Our target is to operate these facilities in time for the reopening of Boracay Island on Oct. 26 this year.
The SURE funds and the additional loanable amount under the Production Loan Easy Access (PLEA) Program of the DA will be released after the beneficiaries have undergone a 1-day Financial Literacy Training to be conducted by the ATI and the ACPC.
As the projects were discussed and agreed upon one by one, I saw several Ati women shed tears who said that for the first time in their struggle to be recognized as part of society, they feel that government cares for them.
On my part, as representative of the Duterte Administration, I apologized to the Ati People for the years of neglect and deprivation by government.
I made a promise that under this Administration, they will be cared for and they will belong.
(Photos of the Biyaheng Bukid activity in the Ati Village in Barangay Manok-manok, Boracay Island were taken by Alan Jay Jacalan, DA-AFID)
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