Nourishing the Earth, Nurturing the Soul

NOURISHING THE EARTH, NURTURING THE SOUL

Lessons in Natural Resource Management from the Soil and Water Conservation Foundation

Nourishing the Earth, Nurturing the Soul

Lessons in Natural Resource Management from the Soil and Water Conservation Foundation

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Soil and Water Conservation Foundation.

All Rights Reserved.

This book was produced with the generous support of DISOP, DISOP Philippines, and MISEREOR. The production of the book was coordinated by Step Up Consulting Services. For more information, visit http://www.steupconsultants.com.

Canares, Michael. P. 2016.

Nourishing the Earth, Nurturing the Soul: Lessons in Natural Resource Management from the Soil and Water Conservation Foundation. Step Up Consulting: Tagbilaran City.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Planting the Seed: An Introduction

9

The Earth is Fertile: 15 Why Working for Communities is about Working with Them 17

18

20

The Community at the Core

Journeying with the Community

Selection and Training are Critical

21

24

25

Recognizing Local Knowledge

Practicing What They Preach

Communities Taking the Lead

Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management

27

30

30

32

Core Business

Research-based Implementation

From Research to Action

33

36

37

Environmental Education is Key

Institutionalizing Environmental Practices

Changing Individual Practices

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation

41

43

44

47

Poverty Coexists with Environmental Fragility

Understanding Local Livelihood Systems

Strengthening Livelihood Assets

48

50

Introducing Sustainable Livelihood Practices

Linking Farms to Markets

Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter

51

53

55

The New? The Old?

OCSAT: A Framework for Organizational Strengthening

61

62

Asynchronous Learning

Strategic Monitoring

66

67

En-gender-ing Development

63 Incentivizing Performance

Knowing When to Leave

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Relationships that Matter : Building Synergies for the Environment 71

69

72

74

Cultivating Relationships

Sincerity and Integrity

The Spirit of Sharing

76

78

Fostering Local Ownership

Building Reputation

Reaping the Harvest: Concluding Remarks

81

Credits

85

Acknowledgments

87

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“Planting the Seed: An Introducttion”

Planting the Seed: An Introduction

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“Planting the Seed: An Introducttion”

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“Planting the Seed: An Introducttion�

How does one capture - in a few pages the rich experience of an organization that aspires to change the world?

This was one overwhelming question that the writing team had to answer when conceptualizing this book.

The question is difficult to answer for two reasons. First, the Soil and Water Conservation Foundation (SWCF) has been in existence for more than thirty years. SWCF began in 1985 as an informal network of persons of several nationalities concerned with the global ecological challenge and the necessity of broad-based local initiatives to respond. However, SWCF was only formally registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) three years later.

It started small-scale support of existing projects by providing inputs to farm-based species trials and consultancy services to hone the technical and management

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“Planting the Seed: An Introducttion”

capabilities of project staff and extension workers. Convinced that the geo-physical eco-system called the watershed is the operative planning and implementation unit, the Foundation embarked on its first three comprehensive, integrated and cooperative ventures to start the rehabilitation of three watersheds, one each in Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Negros Occidental. Since these three initial projects, the Foundation has completed implementation of almost a hundred environment projects in four regions in the Philippines during the last three decades.

The second reason why it is difficult to answer the question is the nature of activities and approaches that SWCF has implemented since its inception. The network’s extensive experience in natural resource management in the Philippines and other parts of the world lent itself to a bottom-up approach to planning, a participatory system of management, an equity-led development focus, and a facilitative style of assistance to public agencies and private organizations involved in environmental projects. SWCF implemented initiatives in employment generation, targeted species conservation, rural micro-credit, literacy, eco-tourism, and heritage conservation, among others.

However, despite the diversity, there seems to be a unifying thread in all of SWCF’s efforts. The efforts of the Foundation are anchored on its vision statement that reads:

“When a country loses its forests, it loses part of its soul.

SWCF assists people and communities restore that soul.”

It promotes natural and human resources development through implementation of activities, projects and programs, which are participatory, cooperative, community building and sustainable. As a result, SWCF endeavors are designed to be technologicallyappropriate, culturally-sensitive, economically-relevant and viable, and sociallyacceptable while creating a more ecologically- sound and sustainable environment.

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“Planting the Seed: An Introducttion”

To provide more focus in the writing of this book, two things needed to be done – constrict the geographic focus to one area, and make SWCF’s vision statement as the primary message that weaves the different stories highlighted in this book. For this purpose, Bohol was chosen as the area for several reasons. First, Bohol is the place where SWCF has tested all its approaches in natural resource management in partnership with other stakeholders – from community residents and students to policy-makers. Second, Bohol is the province where SWCF has stayed the longest and has established the strongest community presence. Finally, Bohol is the place where SWCF has partnered with one of its longest standing donor-partners, the Organization for International Co-operation on Development Projects (DISOP), whose support is instrumental in the writing of this book.

The title of this book speaks volumes of what SWCF wanted to do, and has been doing since its beginning – to nourish the earth and nurture the soul – two processes that feed into each other and articulate SWCF’s development philosophy. SWCF does not only intend to change the landscape but also the people. This involves understanding deeply why people and communities lose appreciation for God’s creation and finding ways how stakeholders are collectively able to restore this. This book narrates how these processes evolved in the Bohol communities, how people were touched, and how it has led to the restoration of the environment.

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

The Earth is Fertile:

Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

“What is possible in a community is only what the community is ready for.

Development needs roots in what people understand.

It needs roots in what people want.

It needs roots in what people trust.” from Gavin Andersson and Howard Richards (Unbounded Organizing in Community, 2015)

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

THE COMMUNITY AT THE CORE Project evaluations conducted in the past rated SWCF projects the highest in relevance.

A project is deemed relevant when this is designed to address the problems and needs faced by beneficiaries. Interventions intended to address these needs are undertaken in order to achieve results and effect changes in the lives of end-receivers.

One of SWCF’s greatest strengths is its approach in working with communities.

The approach has not changed since SWCF started working in Bohol. Projects are developed together with communities and with high regard for local systems and cultures. In August 1998, before SWCF started working in La Union, Sierra Bullones, the agricultural technician assigned in the area made a courtesy call to the barangay captain, and two weeks after, a barangay assembly was held with each household represented to talk about community needs, and how, together, the community could, with the assistance of the project, achieve them. Twelve years later, even before SWCF submitted its project proposal to DISOP about a project to be implemented in the barangays of the municipality of Batuan, it first conducted a problem tree analysis with targeted communities to identify the pressing needs that the project could respond to.

This approach comes with the recognition, that the communities where SWCF operates are living communities, with problems, hopes, expectations, skills, resources and they hold in their hands the solution to their problems.

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

The community is fertile with assets – the earth, its people, the plants, the trees, community practices and culture where SWCF can build its project implementation. According to Mila Baisac, bookkeeper of Bohol Multipurpose Cooperative and one of the mentors hired for bookkeeping trainings by SWCF, the recognition that bookkeepers can emerge from communities with low educational achievements is a testament that SWCF has strong belief in people and their ability to contribute to the development process.

JOURNEYING WITH THE COMMUNITY In this process, SWCF is a facilitator that journeys with the communities in their quest for a better life. This is exemplified by the fact that SWCF technicians, in the first few years of the project, live in the area where they are assigned.

This is not a common practice for non-government organizations (NGOs) in Bohol.

Normally, community organizers “visit” the communities rather than live with them. In the terminal evaluation of the SWCF project implemented in upland barangays along the Eskaya belt, one of the most successful project strategies appreciated by community stakeholders and partners is that SWCF technicians lived on site. The on-site technician policy has been proven effective; not only in terms of achieving project targets, but also in ensuring that SWCF’s presence is felt in the area. Communities appreciate the oncall availability of the technician while project management appreciates the technician’s opportunity to assess community status and monitor project progress. According to Lolita Hingpit of Cambacay, Batuan, one of SWCF’s project sites, it seems SWCF is always within reach to offer them support.

This approach though comes with disadvantages, because the quality of the personnel assigned in the area is critical. The majority of the agricultural technicians that SWCF deploys in the area are persons of competence and commitment. The projects have, so far, achieved not only significant improvements in community participation but also

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SWCF staff Geno T. Omac and Project Manager Regina S. Sagpang doing project monitoring in Inaghuban, Pilar, Bohol.

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

economic empowerment. However, there was one experience where the character quality of the assigned agricultural technician sowed division among residents, disenchanted active women leaders, and raised suspicions on the intentions of SWCF, especially when accountability over project funds was put into question. This was, however, only an isolated incident, an exception than a rule. Since then, SWCF has not experienced another mishap as SWCF management made sure that financial controls are in place and that community residents are made fully aware of financial transactions of the projects that it implements.

SELECTION AND TRAINING IS CRITICAL “This is the reason why we put primary importance on the selection and training of agricultural technicians,” says Aida Granert, SWCF’s development officer. In the selection of technicians to be deployed on site, SWCF is biased towards early career professionals or fresh graduates of agriculture or forestry courses who are from Bohol, who have considerable experience living in rural areas, and with strong commitment towards development.

“They should have at least experienced hardship,” Aida said, “because these are the people who do not easily give up when the going gets tough.”

True enough, most of the technicians currently working at SWCF are those that have stayed with the organization for more than 10 years. Those who have left still feel a strong affinity with the organization which has nurtured their capacities and has contributed significantly to their professional and personal growth. Agricultural technicians are trained in the rigors of community organizing, in project management, leadership,

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

natural resource management, and values. While at work, they are also trained in different topical skills – entrepreneurship, financial management, cooperative movement, karst management, among others. SWCF recognizes that a trained technician is necessary to mentor project participants in different skills.

RECOGNIZING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Working with communities is not a one-way street. SWCF acknowledges that local knowledge exists and is important in every phase or theme in project implementation. This is the reason why technicians listen to the wisdom of the local residents - to understand how the past shaped the current situation of the community. This is demonstrated in their work with Eskaya communities.

They needed to adapt to local customs and traditions which shape community life. They needed to gather and consult with community residents in defining problems and framing solutions, like when they were talking about burning rice straw that can exacerbate global warming as well as violate the Philippines Clean Air Act. They needed to have local people actively participate in biodiversity monitoring, as they are more knowledgeable about the forest and the surrounding areas.

This also means that technicians need to acknowledge that changes do not usually happen overnight. When SWCF goes to a community, it does not expect that the

Activities that work

Courtesy calls and project introductions with local government officials.

Community assembly to discuss the project and clarify expectations.

Deployment of on-site technicians who live in the community.

Registration or accreditation with local government units.

Co-management of funds with community leaders as signatory.

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

Clockwise: Participants of the vermi composting training during the hands-on preparation of different kinds of substrate for vermi composting in order to come up with good quality vermi cast.

SWCF technician Mr. Gerardo T. Payot (far right) helping project beneficiaries identify the names of trees planted in the native tree gene bank.

Project beneficiaries from Bugsoc Farmers Association in a meeting and simultaneous meat vending at the slaughter house in Bugsoc, Sierra Bullones, Bohol.

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

new practices it will introduce will be immediately assimilated into local practices. For example, while SWCF is a staunch advocate of organic agriculture, there are still a few farmers (around 30%) who are reluctant to practice it. Over the years though, SWCF has not lost patience in educating the farmers and in convincing them that organic farming tremendously benefits both them and the environment.

PRACTICING WHAT THEY PREACH SWCF is not just about talk. It models the practices it wants to propagate.

For example, a technician lives in a plant nursery site, that also serves as the office of the organization that SWCF helps to establish, and is also a source of seedlings and planting materials that showcases organic farming practices. SWCF also teaches transparency in financial record-keeping so it discusses and shares with project participants what funds are allocated to them, and how these are spent. As a commitment to co-management of project funds, leaders of people’s organizations co-sign documents to authorize the disbursement of project resources.

Several of the project activities require voluntary work, like the building of the nursery, the maintenance and upkeep of the demonstration farms, and the management of cooperative stores. The people do not mind this because they have also seen how the SWCF’s project implementation team goes out of its way to make the different activities successful. Agricultural technicians stay late at night to correct books of accounts and check minutes of meetings. They stay during weekends and do not go home to their families so they can attend meetings and trainings. They respond to requests for assistance from project participants even beyond office hours. All these show the well-intentioned commitment of the organization’s technicians to the welfare of the community.

This reinforces the organization’s integrity in the communities. When SWCF started working in Bohol, rumors circulated around that the organization was looking for gold

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

treasure and used the community development projects as an excuse to enter communities.

Early on, SWCF focused its work in barangays covered by the Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape (RSPL), an area of forested limestone hills, grasslands, and natural springs.

When people saw what SWCF did and how it treated local communities and the environment, all negative publicity that the organization received even before it started, slowly dissipated.

COMMUNITIES TAKING THE LEAD SWCF’s credibility is enhanced by the participatory nature of its processes. The project recognizes the capacity of local people to manage their own development. As such, proposals for interventions come from them, management of these interventions is done by them, and sustaining the benefits out of these interventions is entrusted to their care.

In effect, community residents are involved not only in implementation, but right from planning, to budgeting and to monitoring and evaluation. This enhances community ownership of the whole development process.

When problems arise, it is not the technician who solves them. The community organization holds meetings and defines the problem, diagnoses its causes, and looks for potential solutions. The identified solutions are then assigned to specific persons

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“The Earth is Fertile: Why Working for Communities is About Working with Them“

with corresponding timelines. All throughout this process, SWCF personnel observes, facilitates, and mentors. The level of involvement at the beginning may be high, but as the organization and its members gain more capacity, slowly SWCF retreats into the background and lets the community residents take the lead.

This is SWCF’s vision of empowered communities. This is SWCF’s vision of a nourished soul – one who can rise above the challenges he or she is facing and use his or her faculties – knowledge, skills, abilities and even weaknesses – to make better his or her life and that of the community where he or she lives. While this does not happen to everyone, several of these experiences have been observed by the different people involved in the project. As what Corazon Latorre, program officer of AusAID-funded (Australian Agency for International Development) projects that included several that SWCF implemented, observed, the most significant change that happened to people in SWCF sites is “confidence in their own capacities; where before the people expressed absence of capabilities regarding self-governance and financial management”.

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management�

Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

“You are no less than a child of the Maker You’re an earthkeeper of the land of your birth You are created to be a creator You’re the lifebearer of Mother Earth.”

Excerpt from the song Earthkeeper by Gary Granada

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Mrs. Gemma Bag-o monitoring the agroforestry farm established by a SWCF project last 2003 in Taytay, Duero, Bohol.

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

CORE BUSINESS It is an understatement to say that the very reason why SWCF does all the things that it currently does is its deep care and concern for the environment. To realize its vision, the Foundation operates five (5) program thrusts, namely; 1) advocacy and environmental education, 2) protected area management, 3) livelihood for rural communities, 4) natural resource management and 5) karst management. Underpinning these program thrusts is the objective of making the earth a sustainable place to live in.

All of the projects that SWCF implemented in Bohol, not only those that were supported

by Organization for International Co-operation on Development Projects (DISOP), are geared towards environmental management, especially of forests and their resources. Its project within the Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape (RSPL), those that were geared towards the empowerment of Eskaya communities, the Micro-Watershed Component project, the establishment of a Biodiversity Center, its youth and student programs, are all directed towards capacitating peoples and organizations in taking care of environmental resources – from rivers, to trees, birds, bats, ferns, to caves, streams, forests and many more.

Rumila Bullecer, dean of the College of Advanced Studies of the Bohol Island State University and one of those involved in the implementation of SWCF’s projects, said that SWCF’s greatest strength is “the integrity and personal passion towards sustainable natural resource management of SWCF’s top management.” Referring to Executive Director William Granert, she said that “the passion is too infectious that the staff and all workers couldn’t help but imbibe the values and put them into practice.”

RESEARCH-BASED IMPLEMENTATION This passion is grounded on evidence. SWCF’s work on environmental management is premised on solid research. It is one of the organizations in Bohol whose work is

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

extensively informed by research, and whose activities also inform future learning and research processes. It conducted extensive inventories of flora and fauna within RSPL, conducted research on bats, dipterocarps, and ferns, conducted feasibility studies on guano and bamboo production, and did value chain analysis of organic chicken, organic pork meat, and bananas.

SWCF Project Manager Regina S. Sagpang monitoring a plant nursery in Garcia, Batuan, Bohol.

Julie Barcelona, a research associate of the School of Biological Sciences of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, worked as a research consultant of SWCF when she was curator of ferns at the Philippine National Herbarium. She coordinated the fern survey in RSPL that led to the publication of an academic paper and several information materials. She said the SWCF’s approach that blends research and

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

community conservation is laudable. She believes that “SWCF’s multi-pronged approach to conservation and community development is essential because it does not only consider conservation based on science knowledge and recommendations but it also build capacities to communities to use their resources sustainably. Examples of this were their introduction to the use of composting, nursery of native plants for reforestation, and encouraging women to be proactive in their role.”

FROM RESEARCH TO ACTION What SWCF knows from research, it uses to influence communities to implement concrete actions. Over the years, SWCF, with the support of Organization for International Cooperation on Development Projects (DISOP) and the cooperation of the community residents, have established Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) sites for the restoration of forest landscapes, continuously collected data from Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS) trails in fifteen barangays, and established a communal bamboo production site and a native tree gene bank at 7 primary schools. These activities do not only help restore the environment but also protect rapidly vanishing species from extinction.

These practices, along with continuous awareness raising and education efforts, have resulted to noticeable changes in the environment.

John Mark Porinas, a child of a project participant from Rizal, Batuan, in a creative visualization exercise, reported that the most significant change he noticed in their barangay is the increase in the number of trees and birds, and the improvement in the condition of the environment. This observation is confirmed by results of BMS which reports a 22% increase in the number of seen/heard birds in the project areas when 2014 figures are compared with the previous year.

However, BMS does not only function as a monitoring tool in SWCF’s project sites.

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

Activities that work

It also increases community vigilance against poachers.

Community volunteers who regularly conduct biodiversity monitoring were able to increase awareness of families, including children, to protect birds and report those who hunt birds in the locality. Those residing by the river stopped the practice of using poison to catch fish.

CHANGING INDIVIDUAL PRACTICES Actions at the community level need to be complemented with changed practices at the household or individual level. The realization that individual action can revive or destroy the environment has become strong across project sites. Reizl Jose, assistant professor at Bohol Island State University said that SWCF’s projects in the areas have significantly contributed to change in practices to the benefit of the environment.

Reizl once worked with SWCF as biodiversity specialist and led the faunal survey of all barangays within the Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape (RSPL).

Policy advocacy at the local level on key environmental issues.

Research results are used in information, education, and communication activities.

Enforcement of national laws in partnership with local governments.

Biodiversity monitoring systems.

“People begin to change practices

Putting up of demonstration farms and gene banks.

because they realized that the environment matters, because this world is our only home,” she emphasized.

Curriculum development on environmental education.

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The realization that individual action can revive or destroy the environment has became strong across project sites that different organizations, together with local officials, agreed to implement more sustainable practices at the household or individual level.

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Project beneficiaries from Garcia Multipurpose Cooperative monitoring the native tree gene bank established by a SWCF project last 2011 in Garcia Primary School, Garcia, Batuan, Bohol.

Different organizations, together with local officials, agreed to implement more sustainable practices at the household or individual level. For example, community residents have increased awareness in waste management and have practiced waste segregation in households. Families have also engaged in recycling activities. Households have installed composting facilities and burning of household and farm residues decreased. Communities do not burn plastics anymore. Farmers, on the other hand, no longer burn rice straw in the fields but instead use it as material for organic fertilizer.

Planting and growing trees has become a practice of most communities. Families, becoming increasingly aware that climate as well as water supply is positively affected by growing

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

Children of project beneficiaries in Janlud (Janlud Farmers Field School, JFFS) studying the IEC materials produced by the SWCF project posted at the nurseries in Janlud, Batuan, Bohol.

more trees, have made it a conscious effort to plant trees and replace those that were cut.

Finally, use of organic fertilizer has increased over time. Farmers are now aware of the harmful effects of inorganic fertilizer on the long-term condition of their farms. While a total switch to organic fertilizer is not observed, there are more farming households who practice organic agriculture now as compared to before the arrival of SWCF.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IS KEY Central to these changes is SWCF’s efforts to educate the public. SWCF conducts extensive trainings on environmental awareness, produces information materials for distribution, and uses display billboards to publicize information about environmental

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

management. SWCF engages different actors and stakeholders – women and men, farmers, government officials, and even children and youth.

SWCF trains teachers and students on environmental conversation, and accepts interns to work in their projects. One of the very successful school-based environmental education programs was the one implemented at the Sierra Bullones National High School. Students and teachers joined hands to implement sound environmental practices, including the upkeep of its own tree park within the campus.

Lucia Virador of Bugsoc, Sierra Bullones said that she benefitted largely from the trainings that SWCF conducted that increased her knowledge on sustainable farming practices. She was able to attend different trainings – contour farming, organic farming, environmental management, leadership, management, and bookkeeping, among others.

Children of project participants like Angeline Bravo also confirmed this, saying that the changes in the environment were brought about by the education activities that their parents have attended. Among those she highlighted were the trainings on contour farming, use of organic fertilizer, livestock management, and nursery establishment.

INSTITUTIONALIZING ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES There is a need to sustain these practices. One of the activities that SWCF does is to lobby for policy issuance at the level of the barangay, the Philippines’ basic political unit. For example, SWCF and its barangay-based organizations lobbied for the passage of local ordinances on non-burning of rice straw, which a majority of covered barangays were able to pass. In the Municipality of Batuan, SWCF, in partnership with the town’s vice mayor, passed an ordinance requiring upland farmers to implement contour farming.

Other practices are embedded in organizational policies, for example, the application of sustainable farming practices is required before any grant of livestock loan is released.

After presenting the results of a Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS) research which

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management�

Project beneficiaries in Lataban, Sierra Bullones, Bohol, doing their monthly voluntary works in one of the demo farms established by a SWCF project.

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

showed the increase in bird species, one municipality declared two SWCF-assisted barangays as bird sanctuaries.

The changes in waste management practices, mentioned above, were also impacted by SWCF’s strong advocacy for the local implementation of Republic Act 9003, otherwise known as the Philippine Ecological Waste Management Act. Without this advocacy, local governments would not have been made aware of updates regarding current environmental laws in force, or encouraged to implement these laws in full.

SWCF realizes that one of the better ways to institutionalize environmental practices is through the enactment of appropriate laws or regulations. Engagement with relevant policy–making bodies is critical. For example, in 2005, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed between SWCF and the Provincial Government of Bohol, through the Provincial Planning and Development Office, Bohol Management Office and Bohol Tourism Office, to prepare an Ecotourism and Biodiversity Conservation

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“Our Task as Earthkeepers: Responding to the Call for Environmental Management”

Framework Plan of Bohol which is in line with the development vision and thrust of the province. This framework aimed to guide the municipalities to adopt major strategies for the conservation of biological resources and the unique natural and cultural heritage of the Boholanos. Through this engagement, SWCF was able to influence public discourse in environmental policies.

SWCF has been very active in these opportunities to influence policy. SWCF Executive Director, Mr. Bill Granert, was once the vice-chairperson in Bohol’s sectoral technical working group under the Environment and Natural Resource Management Sector and has been very active in discussions on environmental management. He is currently the focal person for the biodiversity sub-sector for the Bohol Physical Framework Plan 2016-2021. SWCF personnel were also actively involved in the drafting of the Bohol Environment Code (1998). This was the first such document of its kind at the provincial level in the country. SWCF also participated in the upgrading of the Bohol Environment Code in 2014-2015. Through these opportunities, SWCF asserts its role in ensuring that the environment is protected by law, and that people are encouraged to ensure its implementation.

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“Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation”

Sustaining People’s Livelihood:

Key to Environmental Conservation

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“Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation”

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

The Brundtland Report, 1987

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“Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation”

POVERTY COEXISTS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL FRAGILITY In the areas where SWCF operates, poverty is a prevailing condition. For example, using December 2010 figures, poverty incidence averaged 20% in the barangays where the projects are located. At the same time, the areas covered by SWCF are part of a vulnerable eco-system. Portions of Batuan and Sierra Bullones are part of the fragile ecosystem comprising the Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape and also the Chocolate Hills Natural Monument. All of these five municipalities are within major watershed areas of the province. Pilar and Guindulman are part of the Caruod Watershed; Batuan and Sierra Bullones are part of Loboc Watershed; Pilar, Sierra Bullones, Duero and Guindulman are part of the Wahig Inabanga Watershed. Parts of Duero also form part of the Alijawan-Cansuhay-Anibongan Watershed Reserve Area.

Mr. Nemrod E. Dolotina, SWCF staff, demonstrating to the elementary pupils the proper procedure of planting trees.

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“Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation”

The classic argument is that poor people are not able to conserve the environment – because their poverty will push them to extract resources irresponsibly.

Project beneficiaries in Taytay, Duero, Bohol.

But studies have also shown that deforestation is caused by corporate giants rather than poor people at the fringes.

Farmers have more incentive to protect the environment because on it depend their livelihood. But with introduction of technology for higher yield through inorganic fertilizers for example, farmers are lured into unsustainable farming practices. Also, the desire to earn quick cash in a context where there is no insurance against unforeseen risks tempts some farmers to poach natural resources.

UNDERSTANDING LOCAL LIVELIHOOD SYSTEMS SWCF provides an alternative view that earning income need not be at the expense of the environment. In the last 10 years or so, SWCF projects in Bohol have been directed towards creating the enabling conditions for farmers to

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Mrs. Temotea Biscayda weaving a bag using abaca strips, Biabas, Guindulman, Bohol.

“Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation”

earn their keep while at the same time taking care of the environment. In this regard, several activities were conducted by SWCF to assist farmers in strengthening their livelihoods.

Farming is still a major source of livelihood for most people. The land area of each of the municipalities covered

by SWCF is significantly devoted to agriculture. The provincial agriculture plan identified these municipalities as major producers of rice and other food products such as vegetables and spices. The labor force survey of the province, while done at the provincial scale, identified that agriculture still remains the number one leading source of livelihood with approximately half of the productive labor force working in the sector. For each of the municipalities covered by SWCF, agriculture is the main source of income for more than 70% of the working-age population.

SWCF builds on the realities revolving around this context.

While some projects implemented by other organizations focus on alternative livelihood (i.e. income sources other than farming), SWCF focuses on understanding how and why households choose livelihood activities and what resources they can use to strengthen livelihood outcomes.

Naturally, SWCF focuses its interventions on what farmers are able to do – farming - and initiates activities that help create a productive and sustainable farming enterprise.

Non-farming enterprises are also supported but these are

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Mr. Piladelpo Dapar feeding his free range chicken, applying some techniques taught by the project.

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“Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation”

based on what resources are available in the area. Basketweaving using local material as abaca is one example of this. In some cases, non-farming enterprises supported are those that respond to a particular need, like a grocery store in a remote area, or a meat-vending business in a place where a local market is not nearby.

STRENGTHENING LIVELIHOOD ASSETS To do this, SWCF’s interventions focus on strengthening farmers’ livelihood assets. It conducts trainings on sustainable farming practices, farm management, entrepreneurship, business planning and management, to increase farmers’ livelihood skills and change their farming practices. But these are not just classroom trainings. SWCF conducts farmers’ field schools, site visits to successful farmer entrepreneurs, and handson application of learned skills. Because the SWCF technicians live in the barangays, they are also able to provide on-farm mentoring.

Lolita Hingpit, of Cambacay, Batuan said that after participating in the trainings conducted by SWCF, her family’s farm has significantly changed. Their farm back then was underutilized, but with SWCF’s assistance, they were able to actualize skills learned in farm planning trainings. Their farm now produces different crops and livestock – vegetables, spices, goats, hog, and chicken – they are able to sell and earn from.

Activities that work

Technical trainings aimed at improving livelihood skills and acquiring entrepreneurial mindset.

Financial assistance that is attached to the type of project a farmer wants to implement.

Introducing sustainable livelihood practices

Enforcement of household counterpart on livelihood projects.

Monitoring of livelihood activities.

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“Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation”

The trainings that SWCF provides are matched with financial assistance. SWCF provides capital assistance for livelihood projects that farmers themselves identify – livestock, agricultural production, consumer stores, among others; this in a context where livelihood finance comes with hefty costs. For a select number of beneficiaries, SWCF is able to assist them in buying carabaos to use in their farms.

Jessel Gano, of Inaghuban, Pilar is very thankful to SWCF for the financial and technical assistance that her family received. The different trainings together with the financial assistance she received (in a form of a loan) helped her develop an entrepreneurial mindset. “One of the greatest changes I have experienced personally is becoming a farmer entrepreneur. I now treat my farm as a business that I manage on a daily basis,” she said. Jessel was able to send her children to college using income from her farm.

If we use, for example, sustainable livelihoods framework in assessing SWCF support, it can be said that SWCF intervenes in strengthening financial, human, natural, physical, social, and political assets. This it does by providing access to inexpensive credit (financial), training farmers (human), improving the state of the environment (natural), providing farm assets like carabaos (physical), strengthening community relations through organized groups (social), and linking organizations to local and national government agencies (political). These different processes help strengthen livelihoods of farming households in almost all SWCF project sites.

INTRODUCING SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD PRACTICES SWCF’s main effort is to introduce sustainable farming practices across its project sites, veering farmers away from the use of inorganic inputs and pest management practices that are hazardous to both human and environmental health. Farmers practice contour farming, use organic inputs, conduct integrated pest management in their farms, raise naturally-grown livestock, and use compost to convert organic waste to fertilizer.

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Mr. Ruben Ampoloquio, Inaghuban Pilar Bohol Multipurpose Cooperative chairman and Ms. Cressel Gono, coop sales clerk.

Farmers now plant their farms with more trees, and are very conscientious in waste management practices.

According to Conrado Brigoli, a long-time SWCF Senior Project Manager who is now working with Organization for International Co-operation on Development Projects (DISOP), “The attitudes of farmers now towards the use of sustainable farming practices is a far cry from what I have experienced 19 years ago.” When SWCF started in Sierra Bullones, he saw how people were lukewarm especially to practices like organic agriculture which had an initial negative effect on production yield. “But people began

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“Sustaining People’s Livelihood: Key to Environmental Conservation”

to realize that livelihood is not only about profits, but also of ensuring that nature is not sacrificed in our pursuit for better income figures,” he added.

Sergio Macabudbud of Cambacay, Batuan, greatly appreciated how SWCF helped him see that he can take care of the environment while at the same time continue earning income from his farm. Like other farmers, he realized that agricultural productivity is dependent on the capacity of his farm to produce. Without sustainable practices, the soil will eventually lose fertility and jeopardize productivity in the long run.

LINKING FARMS TO MARKETS To date, SWCF was able to strengthen more than 2,000 jobs or livelihoods in various forms – carabao, swine, and chicken production, consumer store, food vending, fertilizer production, vegetable vending, among others. A major factor in this success is SWCF’s ability to ensure that producers are linked to markets. It sponsored feasibility and value chain studies to serve as basis for its advisory inputs to farmers. It participated in trade fairs to introduce SWCF products to more buyers. The foundation created a federation of organizations so that it can act as a link between farmer producers and buyers.

The improvements in economic condition in the country and in Bohol also contributed to the renewed strength of the local economy. Bohol’s tourism was able to bounce back after the earthquake that devastated the province in 2013. Demand for agricultural products remains high especially for specific crops and livestock. Bohol is still a net importer of vegetables and spices. For naturally grown chicken, Bohol is unable to meet local market demands. The opportunity exists. This is the reason why SWCF tried to facilitate processes that would link farmer producers to a stable demand base. In most cases though, it is the farmers’ inability to meet market demands in fixed and determinable quantities that is lacking. SWCF will still test whether the farmers’ federation, it helped to establish, will be able to fulfill the role of linking farms to markets.

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter�

Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter”

“From planning, issuing orders, transferring technology, and supervising, they shift to convening, facilitating, searching for what people need and supporting.

From being teachers, they become facilitators of learning.

They seek out the poorer and weaker, bring them together, and enable them to conduct their own appraisal and analysis, and take their own action.”

Robert Chambers, in Paradigm Shift and the Practice of Participatory Research and Development

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter”

Mr. Godo Limotlimot (wearing white polo shirt) teaching SWCF staff and BIAMPC the use of participatory impact monitoring tools.

THE NEW? THE OLD? SWCF desires to work with local organizations based in the project sites to become its partners in facilitating development processes over the course of project implementation. The intention is that these organizations will sustain the project’s efforts when SWCF exits the place as project ends.

Which organization will SWCF work with is a critical question. When SWCF arrives at an area, there are generally already existing organizations, formal or informal, registered or unregistered. Some organizations are sectoral in nature – like women’s groups that were organized to deal with gender and development issues, senior citizen organizations composed of women and men aged 60 and above, farmer organizations

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter”

that look into farm productivity, or informal savings and social security groups that meet weekly to contribute and share resources for business, family use, or for death in the family. Others are more formal like cooperatives that have been in operation for several years, or associations registered with the Department of Labor and Employment.

The question then becomes “Will SWCF work with an existing organization or create a new one?” In some project areas, the answer is simple, especially when no such organization exists. Because SWCF would like to involve households, both men and women, and deal with holistic issues, organizing a new one will be a natural choice.

In areas where organizations similar to the ones that SWCF would like to have (e.g. cooperatives, cross-sectoral associations) exist, determining whether the organization is the best group that SWCF will have to work with is sometimes a difficult task.

It requires that SWCF studies or gets to know the organization better, looking at current membership, rules and regulations, financial systems, history of cooperation, and reputation within the wider community. This is important because SWCF needs to trust the organization, and the project participants from the community need to trust it as well.

In most cases, when SWCF finds an appropriate partner, it chooses to strengthen existing organizations rather than organize new ones because this recognizes current social relationships within the community, significantly cuts organizing work, and avoids division and disunity.

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter”

Julito Gumapac, Municipal Agricultural Officer of Batuan, appreciates how SWCF reactivated the organizations in their municipality and how it helped them find a renewed sense of purpose. He noticed that organizational leaders have become more empowered, thanks to SWCF’s approach in involving farmers and local residents in planning and decision-making. For him, organizational strengthening is one of SWCF’s biggest contributions to the community.

OCSAT: A FRAMEWORK FOR ORGANIZATIONAL STRENGTHENING SWCF’s view of an ideal organization influences its interventions in organizational strengthening activities. It uses the Organizational Capacity Self-Assessment Tool (OCSAT) as a framework to structure its interventions and annually monitor progress.

The OCSAT uses six dimensions to evaluate organizational strength, namely, governance, management, financial resources, service delivery, external relations, and organization and program sustainability.

To improve governance, it facilitates processes so that organization can define its strategic vision, mission, and goals, and develops a cadre of leaders within the organization that has the ability to achieve this governance. To strengthen organizational management, it helps the organization to formalize its organizational structure, train officers in leadership and management, and define with them a process of planning, monitoring and evaluation.

In the area of financial management, SWCF does a more purposive mentoring approach, as this is a skill that most organizations are lacking. SWCF hires a financial management expert that trains and mentors leaders performing management functions and bookkeepers of the organizations. The consultant visits them regularly and at scheduled intervals to see how these organizations are performing. He teaches them

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter�

accounting, simplified bookkeeping, store management, cooperative auditing, among others. For bookkeepers, there is on-the-job coaching, to ensure that knowledge and skills learned are consequently applied in real work situations.

Lina Sumaylo, member of a cooperative based in Bangwalog, Duero, very much appreciated how SWCF mentored her in financial management. She realized how important proper recording of financial transactions is to the overall health of the organization. She previously did not have formal education on financial management but is currently one of SWCF’s best bookkeepers who also have the capacity to mentor others. She even said that the financial management skills she learned were also useful

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Artwork of Gargelson B. Lusica from VEMCO, 2nd prize winner of the postermaking contest for project beneficiaries.

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter�

Activities that work

Strengthening existing organizations than establishing new ones.

Using a framework to structure interventions in organizational strengthening (e.g. OCSAT).

Developing a core module of basic trainings that can be run as refresher courses regularly.

Peer learning and field visits.

On-site coaching on key critical skills as bookkeeping.

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter�

Annual assessment using OCSAT.

Giving rewards to best performing organizations.

Allowing organizations to freely define organizational goals.

Progressive hand-over of tasks to organization officials.

Officers of Bugsoc Farmers Association doing business transactions of the association in Bugsoc, Sierra Bullones, Bohol.

Involving organization leaders in every decision-making process.

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Lydia Acedilla, project technician, coaching the new manager – Aiza Melisimo on the financial flow of transactions of the Small Coconut Farmers Organization.

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter�

in the management of her personal and household finances.

ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING SWCF has a core module for organizational strengthening that it conducts on a regular basis as a refresher course. This includes trainings on (1) leadership and values formation, (2) basic bookkeeping, (3) cooperative management, (4) audit management and (5) policy and resolution formulation. These trainings are designed and delivered in different formats, depending on the context and need of the participants. However, most of the courses are done through initial training and followed-up with mentoring sessions on site. This approach recognizes the fact that the SWCF assisted organizations are at different development levels and are coming from different starting points.

Organizational Capacity Self-Assessment Tool (OCSAT) results, for example, show that some organizations are far ahead in terms of organizational management, but others are still lagging behind. In a few organizations, looking for alternative sources of income is not a problem, but in several others, this is something that they are still grappling with. So implementing the same training for organizations of different capacities will be largely ineffective.

To facilitate sharing of experiences and cross learning from each other, SWCF conducts at least two activities that hasten this process. First, SWCF supports field visits which can be farmer to farmer, PO to PO, PO to NGO, and PO to LGU. It also conducts annual People’s Organization Congress where leaders from different organizations are gathered together to share best practices, receive awards for outstanding achievement (PO or farmers), discuss updates on product trends, funding opportunities, and basic laws affecting them, and conduct evaluation and planning activities.

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STRATEGIC MONITORING The presence of field technicians in the site allows close monitoring not only of project activities, but also of organizational maturity. The field technicians know what the current discussions are, what challenges the organizations are facing, and what internal problems need to be resolved.

On the other hand, if organization leaders or members have questions or need advice, the technician is there. The technicians attend project meetings, join the organization in volunteer work, visit households from time to time, inspect minutes of meetings, and looks at organizational books of accounts.

“It is like us journeying with the organization every step of the way,” says Gerry Payot, a technician who has been with SWCF for more than 10 years. He was single when he joined SWCF. Now he has his own family and lives in Pilar.

“If we live in the area, we know the organizational challenges as they occur and provide the best help we can,” he added.

The OCSAT, conducted on an annual basis, serves as an overall evaluation strategy, with performance metrics for which organizations aspire. The presence of the technician in the area is SWCF’s main organizational monitoring mechanism. Consolacion Vinluan, proprietor of Balay sa Humay in Batuan and one of SWCF’s main partners, commented that the changes in the communities that we can now see are the results “of the mentoring process and close/continuous coaching by the SWCF team even during non-office hours and even after the turn-over of the project to the people’s organization.

SWCF staff has the ability and is competent enough to do this.”

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INCENTIVIZING PERFORMANCE Organizations and individuals assisted by SWCF set their own goals – what they would like their organization to achieve, and what they want as individuals to pursue. These goals serve as their sign-posts in deciding what courses of action to take, what activities to pursue, what skills are necessary, and what partnerships with external stakeholders are critical. This is SWCF’s recognition of people’s right to self-determination. What makes the organizations and individuals motivated are the incentives that they receive when achieving their own goals.

Incentives are mostly intangible in nature. During the annual people’s organization congress, the best performing organization is awarded, and so is the model farmer.

Over the course of the year, high performing organizations become learning hubs, best performing officers are tasked to mentor other organizations; every good deed is publicly recognized.

Project participants feel that when they perform better, they are trusted more and are given more support. Dionisio Palingcud Jr, of Rosariohan, Batuan, is one of SWCF’s model farmers. He takes pride in being one and is very happy that he is chosen by SWCF to offer mentoring support to other farmers like him. Now, he is asked by SWCF to act as a resource person in several trainings. He is also very active in his own community in helping solve the persistent problems of poverty.

Regina Sagpang, SWCF’s project manager, said that while they are very strict in the implementation policies, they are also generous with rewards. They do not condone bad behavior, but they also do not allow a good deed go unnoticed. This is the reason why people appreciate how SWCF manages the project. They realize that everything that SWCF does is for their own good.

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Project beneficiaries from Taytay, Duero Bohol.

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EN-GENDER-ING DEVELOPMENT With SWCF’s projects, women in the communities have reclaimed their role in the development process and performed it very well. Arnulfa Almedona of Janlud, Batuan is very thankful that through SWCF she has learned livelihood skills and was able to use them to increase her family’s income. Nemesia Sajulga was able to send her child through college because of the assistance of SWCF in improving her farming practices and with the organization’s financial assistance.

There are many women in the barangays who are now occupying top posts in the organizations, positions that were normally held by men. They have become chairpersons, vice chairpersons, secretaries, and treasurers. They participate in voluntary work, join in biodiversity monitoring, participate actively in meetings, and lead community initiatives.

They are no longer at the sidelines in their community’s development.

Consolacion Vinluan captures this change very profoundly in her own words:

“SWCF is successful in increasing women’s ability to make their own decisions which was denied to them before. They are given the same opportunities as their male counterparts in the business realm. SWCF has been a leader in helping women to realize their potential. They believe that investing in women strengthens families and societies. They are able to develop women’s leadership, increase women’s rights, ensure their personal security, and create new political and economic

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opportunities. This is evidenced by women’s high involvement in programs and activities in the barangays, participating in barangay elections, and leading the cooperative. In simpler terms, women are now able to come on time during meetings, follow simple instructions in the filling up of forms, and come up with new ideas and solutions.”

KNOWING WHEN TO LEAVE The Organizational Capacity Self-Assessment Tool (OCSAT) and the individual experience of SWCF staff with the organizations, and also the opinions of project partners give SWCF a basis to say that it is already an appropriate time to leave. While handing over of responsibilities is a daily activity for most of the technicians, actually leaving the community is a programmed process. Lydia Acedilla, SWCF project technician said that on a daily basis, they hand-over responsibilities to the organization as soon as they are ready for them. But they only start leaving the community at the end of the second year of project implementation, meaning, they no longer live with the people in the community.

For SWCF, a three-year project in strengthening organizations is too long for already performing organizations, but too short for the struggling ones. This is the reason why, when SWCF designs its project, for new sites, it still includes the old sites for monitoring, continuous capacity building, and technical support. At the end of the project term, SWCF turns-over to the organization, not only the project funds that they were able to grow through their collective efforts, but also the responsibility of carrying on the activities.

The organizations’ readiness for turn-over are differentiated across organizations, and also

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“Empowering the People: Why Organizing of Communities Matter”

differentiated across the types or nature of activities. For example, some organizations are already very good at enterprise management but weak in terms of pursuing environmental conservation. Some groups are good at financial management but weak in policy implementation. A key mechanism in ensuring that organizations that SWCF supports are able to support each other well is through the creation of the federation.

“It is our greatest hope that the federation will be able to continue what we have started and also do greater things for the farmers and the communities where they live,” said Aida Granert, SWCF’s development manager. There are already signs that the federation is moving towards this direction.

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“Relationships that Matter: Building Synergies for the Environment�

Relationships that Matter: Building Synergies for the Environment

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“Relationships that Matter: Building Synergies for the Environment”

“By working together in partnership, all stakeholders – including farmers, companies, governments and civil society – can drive a collective effort that produces impact greater than the sum of its parts.”

World Economic Forum, 2016

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“Relationships that Matter: Building Synergies for the Environment”

CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS “I have been with the Foundation since 1991 and have observed many changes in the lives of the people who are our clientele, our partners in development. One important aspect of the foundation’s work is networking, and we do this not because it is required but because it is integral to our work,” William “Bill” Granert, founder and executive director of SWCF said.

Bill’s passion for people and environment and capacity to work meaningfully with other stakeholders is greatly admired by the partners. Engr. Ronilita Bunado of Bohol’s Provincial Planning and Development Office recalls with fondness how SWCF has significantly influenced environmental planning at the province – especially in crafting the Bohol Ecotourism and Biodiversity Conservation Framework that paved a significant change in the way provincial stakeholders view economic development and the environment. Engr. Bunado said that the then prevalent conventional view was that for economic development to happen, some destruction in the environment needs to be allowed. Now, the view is that both goals are not incompatible.

“In their advocacy for the environment, they are not adversarial. They are willing to work with government and other stakeholders and show us the way,” she said.

Describing SWCF’s approach, Engr. Bunado said, “SWCF, through the leadership of Mr. William Granert, was able to establish and maintain smooth working relationships with the provincial government of Bohol, national agencies, and other partners in development that we turn to them not only for technical, but also for financial support.

Bill showed extraordinary resourcefulness in his ability to find external assistance for

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“Relationships that Matter: Building Synergies for the Environment”

development and environmental projects, and generosity to part with whatever he is able to gather and find.”

SINCERITY AND INTEGRITY

Julie Barcelona couldn’t agree more. She said that, “Bill and Manang Aida Granert are a couple committed to make a difference in the lives of Boholanos, above and beyond their personal capacities. I saw this in their persistence and sincerity in helping the community go back to basics, using natural resources sustainably, like what our ancestors used to do, but adopting scientific knowledge in managing the environment. They’re an example of NGO leaders, not getting to sustain their pockets and enrich themselves, as what many NGOs do in the guise of environmental conservation and education.”

Bill and Aida’s work ethic and vision of the organization has meaningfully cascaded to the SWCF team. Engr. Wilson Pajo, Municipal Vice-Mayor of Pilar, Bohol said that SWCF’s sincerity is best exemplified by how its personnel live their lives as an example to other

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“Relationships that Matter: Building Synergies for the Environment”

Bill Granert meeting with a barangay (village) captain as part of pre-project discussions, Batuan, Bohol.

people on how people should take care of the environment, on how they should make their lives more productive. “The technicians live on-site, and everything they do will be known by the people they work with. In this context, it is difficult for them to say one thing, and do another. They need to lead by example,” he added. Building relationships, in this case, is a daily affair, and critical to that process is to live what one preaches.

Those that have participated in SWCF’s projects have attested to this. Several farmers mentioned that SWCF technicians are always willing to help them every step of the

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Activities that work

Forum on Environmental Justice, Iloilo City.

way. “They are there to help us achieve our goals and they are really sincere in their efforts. They give much of their time to help our organization succeed,” Antonio Quieta, Chairman of Bugsoc Sierra Bullones Farmers Credit Cooperative (BUFFACO), one of SWCF’s oldest assisted cooperative based in Bugsoc, Sierra Bullones said.

THE SPIRIT OF SHARING This sincerity and generosity underpin SWCF’s work philosophy. SWCF does not mind sharing its accomplishments with its partners. Bill recalled that “When working with government agencies, we try to see

Participation in local policy making bodies (barangay to provincial levels, governing board, Protected Area Management Boards, and coalitions).

Building the capacity of local government personnel like the Municipal Agriculturist and the Municipal Planning and Development Coordinators.

Sharing project proposals to other non-government organizations to influence proposal development.

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Participation in symposia, fora and conferences relevant to the work.

Assisting organizations in the development of project proposals and in finding relevant donors.

Engaging widely in information, communication, and education activities to benefit different sectors.

that the government technicians receive credit for their participation and that they can use the overall data from the activities for their reports. This provides additional accomplishments for the government field worker that may not be possible because of budget and other constraints.

The data also enhances the work of municipal officers, such as the municipal agriculturist, since this person is responsible for the agriculture activities in the town.” In this way, positive working relationships and cooperation between SWCF and its partners are built and nurtured.

SWCF also does not hold on to their expertise but shares this with others. Everything that the organization or the technician knows is shared to its partners, including the farmers that they work with on a daily basis. They seek to empower others through knowledge and make them partners in the drive towards greater environmental sustainability. This is exemplified in Dionisio Palingcud, Jr. of Rosariohan, Batuan. “It gave me a new sense of purpose,” Dionisio said. “I am not just a participant in the trainings anymore – now I am an educator of other farmers.” He feels that SWCF treats farmers like him as partners in the development process and takes pride in the fact that he is now, as a trainer, able to contribute to solving one of the greatest problems in the community – poverty.

The foundation also assists the people’s organizations that they work with to extend their networks especially for obtaining funding and training from different sources.

In the last ten years, several organizations were able to

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access funding with help and support from SWCF to implement different projects as water systems, agricultural development, and organizational trainings. It helps the organizations build their network as well by sharing with them call for proposals, contacts, and other relevant information that they can use in finding more resources for biodiversity conservation and employment generation.

Beyond Bohol, SWCF is also active in promoting its environment agenda with other organizations. Bill mentioned that “SWCF has also influenced other Organization for International Co-operation on Development Projects (DISOP) partners to look at biodiversity as part of their programs. This has been done through visits of our staff to their sites and their staff personnel visiting Bohol. We freely exchange information, technologies and practices with other agencies, institutions and sector organizations.”

SWCF is also active in knowledge production and sharing. Over the years, SWCF has produced several research papers that they share in regional and national conferences and fora that deal with natural resource management and other topics. “The more our name is known, the more are our opportunities to enhance our vision and mission call to action,” Bill added.

FOSTERING LOCAL OWNERSHIP “We feel that SWCF’s work is our work too,” Rizalino Canda, Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator of the municipality of Batuan said. He highlighted the fact that critical to SWCF’s success in their project sites is how they involve every person – from government officials at the municipal level to the barangay, teachers, students, farmers – in the implementation of the project, always stressing the fact that the project is not SWCF’s, but that of the community.

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Opening of the biodiversity reserve, Malingin National High School, Daan Bantayan, Cebu in 2010.

“Making it work means working together,” he added.

He also emphasized that SWCF’s approach in participatory project implementation is different from others, saying, “We were not just consulted, we were part of the decisionmaking process.”

This networking philosophy does not just build stronger relationships with local actors it also builds local ownership. As Bill said, “Our projects do not operate in a vacuum within a given site. There are many other actors affecting the same group of stakeholders with

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which we work. Bringing them into the picture boosts cooperative effort and enhances the work of the field technician and the local residents themselves.”

A sense of ownership of SWCF’s development efforts by local stakeholders was also one of the most significant changes that Leonilo Lafuente of the Bohol Environmental Management Office observed as a result of SWCF interventions. He is one of those involved as resource persons in SWCF’s trainings on the environment since 1998. These trainings, he said, are one of the ways that government agencies like BEMO are able to reach out to more people despite capacity constraints. “These initiatives come across as joint projects that we put our stakes on, and we ensure that these achieve the outcomes we hope to realize,” he said.

BUILDING REPUTATION In recent years, SWCF’s reputation as an organization capable of improving well-being of communities and the environment has encouraged many local government units and other partners to work with them. Over the years, SWCF has developed extensive lines of communication with different agencies, organizations, educational institutions and individuals that provide services, personnel, advice, materials and sometimes just a good word about what the organization is doing. Bill provided a very clear example on how they establish effective partnerships in biodiversity conservation while at the same time build their good reputation.

Bill recalled:

“Biodiversity conservation as a program is a good example of how we have expanded the networking to different sectors

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“Relationships that Matter: Building Synergies for the Environment”

just through one activity. The institution of the Biodiversity Monitoring System (BMS) by farmers in fifteen barangays has led to the farmer data collectors going into the classroom to teach elementary students and teachers about local biodiversity. This has strengthened the relationship between the Department of Education (DepEd), SWCF and the local farmers. It also provided local students information they would not normally be exposed to in the classroom.

The biodiversity information, especially about birds was recently provided to the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) that is now developing the Provincial Development and Physical Framework Plan for Bohol, 2016-2021, a key planning document required under the law. The collected data will be used to support activities suggested as part of the framework plan to conserve Bohol’s biodiversity.

All the agencies who are represented on the natural resources sub-committee (including SWCF) now know about the information and how it was collected. The network of who knows about our work is significantly expanded.

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“Relationships that Matter: Building Synergies for the Environment”

The information from the farmers will also be used to update displays at the Bohol Biodiversity Complex (BBC) in Bilar, Bohol. This educational facility, including the Dipterocarp Center and native tree nursery, provide visitors with a glimpse into the wildlife and plants of Bohol.

SWCF helped build the BBC over the last 12 years. It is now part of the official Bohol Tourism office education tour route in the province. It is extensively used as a training center for both teachers and students from Cebu Island. The complex provides an example of how to set up educational information structures and trails as well as preserve wildlife and plants. The complex has influenced 44 different public high schools and elementary schools in Cebu Province. Thus, our networking with the DepEd continues to expand, not only in Bohol, but in other parts of Region 7.”

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“Reaping the Harvest: Concluding Remarks�

Reaping the Harvest: Concluding Remarks

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“Reaping the Harvest: Concluding Remarks”

Comedian A. Whitney Brown once said that

“The past actually happened but history is only what someone wrote down.”

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“Reaping the Harvest: Concluding Remarks”

What this book attempts is to document what SWCF has done in the last 20 years or so in its continuous struggle to promote biodiversity conservation and the well-being of poor farming communities. It may however only offer a glimpse of what has been made possible, not necessarily attempting to do justice to the numerous sacrifices and best efforts made by SWCF to advance these goals, relying largely on the memory of several informants to whom the writers are most grateful and the available photographs taken and documents produced since SWCF started its work in the province of Bohol.

Indeed, the previous chapters have documented what SWCF has done to achieve the kinds of change that it now sees in the lives of farmers, community leaders, women, students, children, government officials, researchers, community development workers, technicians, founders – changes that have enriched each individual’s appreciation of the environment and understanding of one’s capacity to destroy or protect our one and only home. As nature cannot speak, the previous chapters have also attempted to describe how SWCF’s efforts have made progress in bringing back the trees, bringing back the birds to sing in its branches, and making the streams flow with water again. For sure, the harvest has been bountiful, though not yet enough.

The quest to nourish the earth and nurture the soul is not yet over. More than ever, the need for SWCF and other similar organizations to continue its efforts is huge, in a context of declining moral values, weakening social and political institutions, and a warming earth. As this book ends, it is hoped that more organizations do what SWCF does, that more organizations and individuals will invest in the kinds of work that SWCF engages in, and that more people of this planet will realize that there is no other opportune time to care for the only home we have but now.

We congratulate SWCF and its partners for the great work so far as we challenge them to do more for the sake of the earth and all that live in it.

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CREDITS Main Author:

Contributing Author:

Michael P. Canares

Production Team:

Aida Granert Jean Celeste Paredes Arlen Canares

Marilou Sale Ma. Isabel Retutal Mariejoe Narca

Photography:

SWCF Resources

Ernie Crescencio

Lay-out:

Hazel Denise Karunungan

Book Cover:

Selina Meldred O. Gomez Garcia Multi-purpose Cooperative, Garcia Batuan, Bohol First prize winner, SWCF poster making contest

Book Concept Workshop Participants:

Resource Persons:

William Granert

Conrado Brigoli Regina Sagpang Gerardo Payot Lydia Acedilla Gemelina Piollio

Nemrod Dolotina Marilie Magduza Nilo Engbino Geno Omac

Arnulfa Almedona Mila Baisac Julie Barcelona Rumila Bullecer Ronilita Bunado Rizalino Canda Jessel Gano Julito Gumapac Lolita Hingpit Reizl Jose

Leonilo Lafuente Corazon Latorre Sergio Macabudbud Wilson Pajo Dionisio Palingcod, Jr. Antonio Quieta Nemesia Sajulga Lina Sumaylo Consolacion Vinluan Lucia Virador

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This book will not be possible without the generous support of the DISOP, DISOP Philippines, and MISEREOR.

Dienst voor Internationale Samenwerking aan Ontwikkelings Projecten or Organization for International Co-operation on Development Projects, is a Belgian private non-stock, non-profit organization established in 1961 and recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization for Development Aid. In the course of the years, DISOP managed to build up a firm and dynamic supportive group in Belgium as well as in other parts of the world.

DISOP considers itself as an instrument of solidarity among nations, contributing to the development of less advantaged nations in the world.

DISOP Philippines, is an Agency for International Development, co-financed by the Belgian Government through its Development Aid Fund. It supports community-initiated development programs, which are based on economically sustainable, ecologically sound and gender responsive development efforts. We aim to achieve this through financial assistance and multi-level capability building in partnership with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and people’s organizations (POs) with the end-view of improving the quality of life of poor communities.

MISEREOR is the German Catholic Bishops’ Organisation for Development Cooperation. For over 50 years MISEREOR has been committed to fighting poverty in Africa, Asia and Latin America. MISEREOR’s support is available to any human being in need – regardless of their religion, ethnicity or gender. MISEREOR therefore believes in supporting initiatives driven and owned by the poor and the disadvantaged. This is because in MISEREOR’s experience it is they themselves who possess the strength to improve their lives sustainably.

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Produced by the Soil and Water Conservation Foundation with funding support from DISOP, DISOP Philippines and MISEREOR