Collection of crafts and material culture of the southern and northern
Mindanao tribes on display at the Museo de Oro
Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
Dr. Erlinda Burton, curator of Museo de Oro and former director of the Research Institute of Mindanao Culture (RIMCu), has always espoused the importance of the participatory approach to her applied development projects. In this interview she detailed the process and methodology that she observed in one of her major projects, the community development program for the Matigsalug Manobos in Valencia, Bukidnon, Philippines.
After visiting a community of Matigsalug Manobos in San Fernando, Bukidnon Dr. Burton and her then anthropology students initially decided to take on the infrastructure development of the area. However they soon realised after several community consultations that the needs of the community goes way beyond the provision of basic infrastructures. The venture was jump-started through the networking efforts of Dr. Burton’s team who went out of their way to gather whatever little aid they chanced upon, including an intra-school fund drive. The intervention had to be considered as immediate, emergency even, but this was no excuse not to plan the intervention as systematically, sensitively and holistically as the circumstances then granted. The team organised the consultation process in what now appeared to be five different stages.
What is your problem?
During the first community consultation the majority of the members of the community were present, lead by their respected elders. The first question Dr. Burton recalled asking them was, “what is your problem?”. Instead of asking directly what they need (where there is a risk of misinterpretation of data) asking them their most pressing issue painted a more precise canvas of their woes and hence their most prompt needs. The table below summarises the initial findings.
No | Problem/Issue | Identified Need |
1 | I want to learn how to read and write | Education/Literacy |
2 | We always get sick | Health and Sanitation |
3 | We don’t have any income | Livelihood |
4 | Our surroundings | Protection of Ancestral Domains |
Table I Summary of Initial Consultation Findings
Can you help us?
The most significant milestone the program reached was when the community, after the problems (needs) had been identified, collectively asked for help, “Can you help us?”. So trusting the expectations check has been administered and all parties concerned had a clear idea where they are positioned in the system of flows the project was initialised. It should be noted says Dr. Burton that the desire for help should come from the stakeholder and should never be assumed. If it doesn’t automatically spring out this desire can be made “manifest” through effective facilitation, making the client community recognise the need to which they are blind to. By reiterating that they are the party in need of and requiring aid will they understand that everything that will transpire henceforward are FOR them.
Which do I need first?
Considering the financial state of the program seven years ago it was necessitated that the needs be met depending on the degrees of immediacy, prioritisation was key. Based on the workshops that were conducted by the team there were four pressing needs they want to direct attention to: livelihood, education, health and environmental protection and conservation (in decreasing order). From here it was clear that the first program focus on livelihood.
With a partnership forged with Salamanca University in Spain the program was graced with a decent amount of funding to slowly implement the programs. The service rendered by a graduate anthropologist from Xavier University who volunteered as a community organiser significantly embed the presence of Dr. Burton’s team in the tribal village, trust was established.
Inculcating sense of ownership: an iterative process
Just by asking the community what exactly are their most pressing issues/problems the cornerstone of the program was cast. It should be highlighted that only through inculcating a “sense of ownership” that development programmes can thrive, survive even. Dr. Burton emphasised the need to constantly remind the program beneficiaries that the program is theirs, this can be done most effectively through non-verbal means. Making the community part of the program implementation has always been effective in inculcating a sense of ownership, among many others. A very good example of this given by Dr. Burton was their move to enlist the community in constructing their own water supply/irrigation system. During the inauguration ceremony after the tap was turned open and water gushed out, the Matigsalug Manobos were in tears as if competing with the flowing water.
We want a People’s Organisation (PO)
“We were surprised when they said they want to form a PO, just when we were about to suggest it to them”. When the people started mobilising themselves one could have easily discerned the brimming sense of empowerment they have created for themselves Dr. Burton noted. There were a few times that the community went overboard citing instance when they asked if they can put up a cooperative. Due to the requirements this would entail including a more complicated profit sharing scheme, auditing and bookkeeping the team decided that the community is still unfit to undertake the proposed venture to which the community conceded after a lengthy explanation.
Evaluation
If we count the number of Matigsalug Manobo kids that the program was able to send to school, intricacy of the irrigation system or how many adults can now read and write then it can be easily inferred how successful the programs implemented has been. These however are not the lone indicators, if not most telling. Dr. Burton stressed the importance of noting the little moments in each Manobo’s life that they thought and believe that they are better than they thought they are (or made to believe they are). Building capacities should not only be treated collectively, for it to be truly appreciated in its sheer mass it should first be broken down into its individual components and appreciate how each part informs the completeness of the whole. Besides, these little moments of joy is what keeps us organisers from going on and on and on, she concluded.
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