| Moro village in Sarangani rises from ugly past |
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| Monday, 18 January 2010 | |
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KIAMBA, Sarangani— Blessed with a bountiful sea and a fertile land, the village of Datu Dani here, an erstwhile “no man’s land” decades ago, is rebuilding its lost glory. “Before the war broke between the government and the Moro rebels, life here was basically good. Many capitalists were around that makes our place a bustling business zone,” recalls 52-year-old Abulhasen Udda. Stained by blood as a result of the rebellion waged by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), blood bath worsened further in later years when settlers arrive in the rustic village where plenty of coconut trees gently sway to the breeze of the turquoise-colored Celebes Sea. The arrival of the settlers in the village where the rugged road opposite the sea offers a fantastic view of lush mountain greeneries gave rise to the Ilaga (a vigilante group composed of Christians) and Blackshirt (a group of Moro fighters who became forerunner of the MNLF). Draped in the blood of the past, the future, however, no longer looks stark in this Moro-dominated place nowadays. The tune of progress is humming like a masterful orchestra alongside the peaceful co-existence between the Moros, the settlers consisting of Ilokano, Cebuano, Tagalog and Ilonggo, and indigenous people like T’bolis. Furniture venture At a desolate patch hidden by shrubs, an open bahay-kubo (thatched hut) offers just one snapshot about efforts by residents to have better lives—modest they may seem to be. The pounding of the martillo (hammer) against a nail, the gnash of the lagare (manual saw) versus the wood and the hiss of the papel-de-liha (paper sander) break the quiet surrounding, with the smell of lacquer wafting in the air. Shadowed by tall trees, the hut is the bamboo furniture production area of the Datu Dani Moro Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative, a group now literally not true to its name. Founded in 1999 with an original 48 members, the cooperative has now grown to about 500 members not only comprising of Moro but a mix of Christians and lumads. In fact, the group’s incumbent chairperson, Joseph Toledo, is an Ilokano. He has not converted to Islam. “The tri-people here are blending perfectly well. In making these bamboo furniture, “Christians, Muslims and lumads work like real brothers,” says Toledo, in whose compound the production area is located. With the breeze serving as cooling fans, male group members churn out sturdy bamboo-made beds and dining and sala sets priced from P6,500 to P8,500. Since the area is well-accessible to rattan, they also produce decorative handicrafts out of it like lampshades and hanging balls. Before last year, the cooperative creates their masterpieces using manual method but a grant allowed for electric tools to roar and pierce the hush environs. The Action for Conflict Transformation for Peace Programme (ACT for Peace), a United Nations Donor Programme-funded program carried out with the Philippine Government, gave them P235,000 in April 2008 that allowed the group to purchase a generator set, compressor, electric sander and other mechanized tools needed for their livelihood project. The ACT for Peace since 1997 has been working to strengthen peacebuilding efforts in conflict-affected and conflict-vulnerable communities in Mindanao. Barangay Datu Dani is just one of 278 peace and development communities (PDCs) that are being supported by the Programme in their transformation. “It’s very helpful as we try to penetrate the local markets. At the moment, we have clients from as far as GenSan (General Santos City),” says Toledo, pointing to unfinished bamboo benches ordered by a Catholic-owned radio station in the city that is less than two hours’ drive away. From the proceeds of their sales, the cooperative saves 20% after deducting all the expenses for materials and labor—to be later on reaped by cooperative members at a particular period through dividend sharing, with Toledo looking upbeat to the future. Display center Along the national highway in their village, the group has started constructing a 54-square meter building made of light materials to serve as showroom and training center, out of the proceeds and contributions from other groups. “We will display our products there for all the world to see, appreciate and eventually buy. This is the first time in the town that there will be a trading center of crafts we produce,” he says proudly. On it will be displayed also the banig (sleeping mats) and bayong (native bags) that the women of Datu Dani also make, Toledo adds. The women have been trained by experts from the Department of Trade and Industry. Toledo, who was engaged in armed struggle with the Moro National Liberation Front, taking the name Kumander Mal-am (old man), notes that apart from bamboo furniture and rattan crafts, the display center will also carry tribal brass works such as belts, wristbands and other indigenous fashion accessories. He himself has an artistic flair with a splice of entrepreneurial aptitude. Proof of this are the nature-sculpted woods he puts together into décor pieces. The woods from the forest, buried deep for years, have been washed by a recent flood and he gathered them, turning into art pieces. “I’m not getting any younger and I wanted to pass my skills so people in our village would become productive and progressive,” says the 69-year old cooperative chairperson. Toledo works for the development of the village to keep the flames of peace alive with Udda, a commander under the National Security Command (NASCOM) of the MNLF when the group was still at war with the government. Udda is now a peace and development advocate who is doing community organizing and helping in mobilizing resources for the PDC Datu Dani. The Government and the MNLF forged a final peace agreement in 1996. “As a peace and development advocate, I always propagate that we are all brothers and sisters. We all have one blood,” says Udda, holding back his tears as he recalls the ghost of the past. “Now and in the future people in the village can live on their own because of these livelihood projects [given to us],” Udda notes, pointing as well to the rice and corn fields, coconut trees and coffee plants dotting the village. Udda was the cooperative’s immediate past chairperson. Baling project Aside from the native handicraft products and agricultural commodities that Barangay Datu Dani produces, the cooperative has also ventured into a near-shore fishing project. Out of the ACT for Peace grant in 2008, the cooperative spent part of the fund to purchase a fine-meshed fish net to catch the seasonal bolinao (anchovy) and another fish net size to capture the bigger tamban (sardine) and other same-sized fish species. “On a lucky day, we can harvest as much as 100 cans of bolinao that we sell at P500 each for a net income of P350 per can,” says Victorino Guillermo. There are normally about 10 cooperative members who are involved in their so-called baling operation but others are drawn to participate, which the group could not put down. In a sense, giving life to the phrase “everyone’s happy.” Baling, which refers to the fish net, reflects unity as the men have to pull to the shore the net laid out u-shaped in the waters to catch the sea’s bounty. The ropes tied to the ends of the fish net measures about 100 meters. “It allows us to give baon (school money) to the children,” says Guillermo, adding they don’t have a problem with ready buyers. Toledo notes that Datu Dani is experiencing all these chances towards development because of the relative peace that has shrouded the place all these years. Although the road to an economic bustling village is still a long way, Toledo expresses confidence the horizon will be bright for them, even amid limited financial resources facing the group now. “The seeds have been planted and all we need is to sustain them to achieve a vibrant community [just like it was decades ago],” Toledo says. (ACT for Peace) |