Sama Bajau families are being resettled in duplex houses at a site being developed as an ecovillage by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Four housing units in the Bajau Eco-Village in Sitio Panubigon, Barangay Lipata, Surigao City were turned over to the first batch of beneficiaries on 17 January.

“It is not only a house — it is a future, it is a better life,” Violeta Dominguez Acosta, head of Philippine branch of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), said.

The AECID funded the building of the houses under the Huy-anan nan Bajau sa Surigao (Home for Bajau in Surigao) Project in partnership with UN Habitat. Bajau families helped design and construct the culturally-sensitive houses.

“Localizing the SDGs is about empowering communities to shape their own futures. By tailoring SDG initiatives to the unique cultural and socio-economic contexts of each community through involvement in decision-making, we pave the way for greater inclusion of vulnerable communities,” according to UN Philippines resident coordinator Gustavo Gonzalez.

Twenty housing units or five quadruplex stilt houses are targeted under the Huy-anan nan Bajau sa Surigao project.

Currently, indigenous bajaus reside in neighborhoods with no proper access to basic water and sanitation facilities.

The project, launched in October, forms part of the Localize to Realize: Accelerating Sustainable Development Goals (L2R SDG) implemented by UN Habitat and UN Women, and funded by the global Joint SDG Fund.

Families from vulnerable communities in Surigao City have identified entrepreneurial and business opportunities to improve their living conditions. These are aquaculture development, a materials recovery facility, and a neighborhood store that can be upscaled to an e-commerce platform are some of the initial livelihood programs proposed during community consultations.

L2R SDG follows a participatory and community-driven model where indigenous groups and informal settler families can engage with local and national governments in SDG-based planning, budgeting, and decision-making activities.

The implementation of the L2R SDG and its complementing projects represent a significant step towards achieving the SDGs in Surigao City.

“This collaborative approach fosters inclusivity, empowers local voices, and builds resilient communities. Joint programs such as the L2R SDG is a driver for meaningful, fit-for-purpose development,” Gonzalez said.

The L2R SDG aims to localize the SDGs by establishing a participatory and community-driven model that can unlock and support vulnerable communities to engage with local and national governments in SDG-based planning and budgeting and access programs and services that are responsive to the differentiated socio-economic needs and priorities of population groups.