DAVAO CITY — The two-story multi-purpose building funded by the New Zealand Embassy was turned over to the Indigenous Women in Barangay Pandaitan in Paquibato last 19 June.

The City Government of Davao, through the Peace 911, in partnership with the New Zealand Embassy in Manila officially turned over the Bahayahay project.

The project is a two-story multi-purpose building constructed to provide the Ata women in Paquibato a venue where they can conduct training on their traditional crafts including dressmaking, beading and basket-weaving.

The Bahayahay will be our venue to train and teach the younger generations about the practices in our culture and tradition, to preserve it and ensure that it will last.

At the very core of the project is the intent to ensure the preservation of the cultures and traditions of the Indigenous People such as the traditional weaving and bead-work craftsmanship unique to the Ata tribe of Paquibato.

Biyo Alma Omo, president of the Ata Women Association of Paquibato District, extended her gratitude to the City Government and the New Zealand Embassy for the project.

She said that the project is a huge help for them as they now have a venue to share their traditional weaving and beadwork with the younger generation.

“The Bahayahay will be our venue to train and teach the younger generations about the practices in our culture and tradition, to preserve it and ensure that it will last,” Omo said in the vernacular.

The New Zealand Embassy, in a message read by Rolando Torres, a representative from the Office of the New Zealand Honorary Consul for Mindanao executive director, congratulated the Ata women in Paquibato and expressed hope that the project will help in the preservation of their culture and tradition.

The City Government of Davao hopes for the sustainability of the project and will continue its efforts to help Indigenous People preserve their cultures and traditions throughout the coming generations.