The Blaan
We’ve just come back from a half-day of driving on rural Philippine roads to visit with a clan of the B’laan tribal group. This tribe has been planting coffee on Mt. Matutum, part of the agricultural land reserve that they occupy, for the last 20 years. Their coffee farming helps them achieve economic stability and gain a voice in leveraging the government for land that was taken from them in the last 200 years.
The B’lann lived at the foot of Mt Matutum for hundreds of years until fifteen sixty-five when the Spanish invaded the island and took control. The Spanish created paper titles for the land so that king Phillip, who the island was named after, would have authority over the land. The B’laan had no knowledge of the system that the Spanish were imposing on their land and because of the hostility of the Spanish the B’laan were forced up the mountains. During the next five hundred years the B’laan were pushed off the land over and over again. They have been pushed by missionaries seeking the riches and prestige of owning land and they were pushed by Dole Inc. for their soil.
In the name of peace the B’laan often moved away from the struggle, because the opposition was often heavily armed, so they forfeited their right to self-determination. In the last twenty years their awareness of the rights they have as Indigenous People to determine there own destiny has been illuminated by acts of a local leader, Suya Buan.
In the early 1990s, he was convinced by big business people and powerful politicians to allow logging within the Ancestral Land of the B’laan people around Mt. Matutum in the province of South Cotabato. He sincerely believed it was a path to alleviate his people from poverty. At first, he enjoyed the rewards of logging in terms of wealth and power among his people. But such rewards were short lived. Soon, Suya Buan realized that while the owners of the logging companies and the politicians were getting extremely rich, his people’s economic life was not improving and their Ancestral Land was being desecrated and destroyed. Through community consultations and spiritual discernment processes, he decided it was time to stop logging within the B’laan land.
The political leaders and logging bosses applied as much pressure to Suya Buan using lies and violence to try to scare him into passivity. These actions did nothing to hamper Suya’s efforts, and he stood firm, confident that justice would be achieved. On October 28, 2000, a group of armed men came to his house and knocked on his door. When he answered the door he was shot in the chest at point blank range with an m14 rifle and died instantly.
Although, when questioned later, the armed men hoped that these terrorist tactics would scare the people away and allow them to continue to rape the land of its resources uninhibited, in the memory of Suya’s vision for the B’laan the young men of the community gathered. A group of activists would stand as the Bantaygubat or Wilderness-watch. They would study the laws concerning their land and continue to be actively aware of what is happening on their land. It is the BantayGubat’s job to report illegal action within the conservation area, and pursue the prosecution of people who would exploit the natural resources of the Mt. Matutum reserve.
These men are honoring Suya’s memory by crediting his vision for an economically stable B’laan tribe in their pursuit of economic stability through coffee farming on Mt. Matutum.. Along with a local agriculturalist they are learning about the full potential of their land through planting coffee within the the forest and adding to the ecosystem rather than taking from it. .They are also taking advantage of a well balanced ecosystem that will feed the coffee and guard it from the threats of pestilence that come with mono-cropping or even intercropping. In the last twenty years the B’laan have planted an estimated two-hundred hectares of forest in patches all over Mt. Matutum, and in the last 2 years they have been selling their coffee the same agriculturalist who is also a local distributor. The B’laan people are beginning to see the fruit of Suya Buan’s vision and struggle for self-determination for their people..
Our vision as peacebuilders is to support the B’laan as brothers and sisters. We hope to learn from their struggle for self-determination and their new agricultural endeavor, and hopefully empower them in how to price their coffee justly through exposing them to fair trade principles. We also hope to give them the skills to hone their planting technique so that it will be as productive as possible. We also want them to be able to reproduce this teaching within their tribe and other tribes.
The vision is very hopeful for the B’laan, as they are starting to see the fruit of their labour and gain economic stability and expertise in coffee farming. I hope that as they grow to determine their own future they can give hope and skills to the other tribes of the Philippines who are in a similar struggle.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
Little NGO shop serves ‘just’ brewed coffee
By Jeffrey M. Tupas
Mindanao Bureau
Posted date: February 23, 2008
ONE CAN BARELY NOTICE the small structure a few meters from the Philippine Women’s College in Davao City, even during school breaks when the road is clear of the usual rush of students amid cars and motorcycles.
But for the observant and the curious, the coffee shop in Juna Subdivision is a sure magnet although it holds fewer than a dozen young patrons.
Coffee for Peace, painted in a dull yellow-and-forest green combo, looks like a bored bookstore unvisited for years and does not even speak of the great brew it offers to a growing clientele.
People behind the counter, however, are always ready to take customers to a tour of stories—inspiring and moving—about the lives of farmers from where they source their coffee, their own experience in taking care of the environment, and their take in building and fostering peace in areas once ravaged by armed conflict.
That, according to Krizanti Cruzado, research and development officer of the Peacebuilders Community, was the reason the café got its name.
Fund-raising roots
Opened in May last year, Coffee for Peace evolved from a fund-raising effort of the Peacebuilders Community, a nongovernment organization working for peace and reconciliation in conflict areas in Mindanao.
“We are doing a lot of things so the question was: How will we be able to sustain them? If we remain to be funding-based, there will certainly be difficulty in doing our tasks and delivering to the communities that need our help. We wanted to be self-reliant so we thought of putting up a coffee shop,” Cruzado says.
Why? Because “there is coffee in Mindanao and a lot of people are lovers of coffee … somehow, it is one of the few things that is common among the rich and the poor.”
The shop draws its supply of coffee from the B’laan of Mt. Matutum in South Cotabato.
Free trade
“We give justice to the people where we source out our coffee from. We follow fair trade. We brew coffee that is not just coffee … our coffee here is a just coffee. This we do while we continue doing our advocacy work,” Cruzado says.
The Peacebuilders Community buys premium Arabica at five times higher than the gate price of at least P25 per kilogram. It wants to pass on this kind of attitude to others who want to engage in the business as its partners, Cruzado says.
Her group also engages the community into becoming better financial and environmental managers.
“We are changing our hats. Everything that we are doing is so integrated with each other, and with others. We are doing peace and we are doing business in harmony with nature,” the NGO leader says.
Unique taste
She says her group is banking on the unique taste of its products. “There is no compromise as we give it all the way.”
The menu is riddled by the word “peace” attached to the food and drinks—peace tuna melt, peace butter toast, peace cheese melt, peace peanut butter toast, peace fruit juice, peace fruit shake, hot coffee for peace, iced coffee for peace, and misty peace tea.
The shop also offers Philippine Civet Arabica, one of the most sought-after coffee. And true enough, the brew could be one of Davao’s best.
Cruzado says that since the café opened, it has been receiving positive reviews from its many customers: students, young professionals, NGO workers, church people and missionaries, and people from the academe.
©Copyright 2001-2008 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view_article.php?article_id=120778
Mindanao Bureau
Posted date: February 23, 2008
ONE CAN BARELY NOTICE the small structure a few meters from the Philippine Women’s College in Davao City, even during school breaks when the road is clear of the usual rush of students amid cars and motorcycles.
But for the observant and the curious, the coffee shop in Juna Subdivision is a sure magnet although it holds fewer than a dozen young patrons.
Coffee for Peace, painted in a dull yellow-and-forest green combo, looks like a bored bookstore unvisited for years and does not even speak of the great brew it offers to a growing clientele.
People behind the counter, however, are always ready to take customers to a tour of stories—inspiring and moving—about the lives of farmers from where they source their coffee, their own experience in taking care of the environment, and their take in building and fostering peace in areas once ravaged by armed conflict.
That, according to Krizanti Cruzado, research and development officer of the Peacebuilders Community, was the reason the café got its name.
Fund-raising roots
Opened in May last year, Coffee for Peace evolved from a fund-raising effort of the Peacebuilders Community, a nongovernment organization working for peace and reconciliation in conflict areas in Mindanao.
“We are doing a lot of things so the question was: How will we be able to sustain them? If we remain to be funding-based, there will certainly be difficulty in doing our tasks and delivering to the communities that need our help. We wanted to be self-reliant so we thought of putting up a coffee shop,” Cruzado says.
Why? Because “there is coffee in Mindanao and a lot of people are lovers of coffee … somehow, it is one of the few things that is common among the rich and the poor.”
The shop draws its supply of coffee from the B’laan of Mt. Matutum in South Cotabato.
Free trade
“We give justice to the people where we source out our coffee from. We follow fair trade. We brew coffee that is not just coffee … our coffee here is a just coffee. This we do while we continue doing our advocacy work,” Cruzado says.
The Peacebuilders Community buys premium Arabica at five times higher than the gate price of at least P25 per kilogram. It wants to pass on this kind of attitude to others who want to engage in the business as its partners, Cruzado says.
Her group also engages the community into becoming better financial and environmental managers.
“We are changing our hats. Everything that we are doing is so integrated with each other, and with others. We are doing peace and we are doing business in harmony with nature,” the NGO leader says.
Unique taste
She says her group is banking on the unique taste of its products. “There is no compromise as we give it all the way.”
The menu is riddled by the word “peace” attached to the food and drinks—peace tuna melt, peace butter toast, peace cheese melt, peace peanut butter toast, peace fruit juice, peace fruit shake, hot coffee for peace, iced coffee for peace, and misty peace tea.
The shop also offers Philippine Civet Arabica, one of the most sought-after coffee. And true enough, the brew could be one of Davao’s best.
Cruzado says that since the café opened, it has been receiving positive reviews from its many customers: students, young professionals, NGO workers, church people and missionaries, and people from the academe.
©Copyright 2001-2008 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view_article.php?article_id=120778
Coffee for peace - international news
Ecumenical News International
News Highlights
29 February 2008
Protestant leaders call for end to US economic embargo on Cuba
Geneva, 29 February (ENI)--Protestant church leaders from the Caribbean and North America have called on the United States to lift its economic embargo against Cuba in the interest of justice and right relationships. The call was issued by the Caribbean and North American Area Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, which met in Georgetown, Guyana. The council described the embargo as "a violation against the Cuban people and an exclusion that impoverishes and causes harsh suffering for women, men and children", WARC said in a statement issued on 29 February from its Geneva headquarters. [269 words, ENI-08-0185]
Indian Baptist group issues '10 commandments' for elections
By Anto Akkara
Bangalore, India, 29 February (ENI)--One of India's Baptist churches has issued 10 commandments for voters ahead of elections for the northeastern Meghalaya state legislature scheduled for 3 March. The commandments urge electors to vote for "able and dedicated" candidates of integrity and of good moral character, and caution church members against voting for self-seeking politicians who make empty promises. Church members are also told to keep away from free dinners hosted by the candidates, and also not to accept or seek money for voting for the contenders, some of whom sponsor church members' trips to church conventions. The commandments carry a dictum in a Christian spirit requesting voters not to make "any negative comments on the candidates you are not supporting and completely avoid any verbal duel or fights" with others. [258 words, ENI-08-0184]
US tax service probes denomination over Obama speech
By Chris Herlinger
New York, 29 February (ENI)--The US Internal Revenue Service is investigating whether a speech at the United Church of Christ's 2007 general synod by Barack Obama, who is seeking to become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, amounts to denominational engagement in "political activities". "We are confident that the IRS [tax service] investigation will confirm that no laws were violated," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the denomination's general minister and president, said in a statement. "The United Church of Christ took great care to ensure that Senator Obama's appearance before the 50th anniversary general synod met appropriate legal and moral standards." [297 words, ENI-08-0183]
Filipino-Canadian Mennonite uses coffee to help build peace
By Maurice Malanes
La Trinidad, Philippines, 29 February (ENI)--A Filipino-Canadian Mennonite missionary who left a life of comfort in Vancouver, Canada is helping to build peace in his native country, which he left more than 20 years ago, and one of his weapons is coffee. "My family and I were enjoying relative peace in Canada, but it's nice to be home again to enjoy the task of helping build shalom or salam [peace] in our country, especially in Mindanao," said the Rev. Daniel Pantoja, who heads the Peacebuilders' Community, a Mennonite team in the Philippines. The island is known as the scene of clashes between the armed forces of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a separatist rebel group. Pantoja's organization has a centre for peace and reconciliation, and a café called "Coffee for Peace", which helps generate local, sustainable income for the organization's peace and reconciliation field workers. "The café is important because every time representatives of both the Mo!
ro Islamic Liberation Front and the Philippine military have coffee in our centre, they don't have any skirmishes during the rest of the day," said Pantoja. [593 words, ENI-08-0182]
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