Katutubo Exchange Philippines (KXPH), a volunteer organization of indigenous youth and cultural workers, has turned 10 years old. To celebrate this milestone, they have lined up and implemented several activities to various educational institutions for the whole year as it continuously adheres to its commitment and advocacy of raising awareness on and fostering appreciation of Philippine cultural heritage from oral traditions and performing arts to traditional crafts and other creative expressions. Drawing its inspiration further from Republic Act 11961, which aims to strengthen the conservation and protection of Philippine cultural heritage through an enhanced cultural heritage education program, they are also committed to safeguarding intangible cultural heritage.
Their activities and projects started off in the month of February 2024 for the celebration of National Arts Month with an outreach program, Pamanang Sining, which was a series of seminars and workshops on art heritage and languages conducted in various educational institutions in the regions of Ilocos and Cagayan Valley. It reached out to the Imalawa cultural community of Vintar in Ilocos Norte.
For National Heritage Month in May, a roadshow, “Taoid,” which means “heritage” in Iloko, was conducted, consisting a series of lecture-workshops on indigenous cultural heritage in the provinces of Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte. An international outreach program has also been implemented at the Philippine Embassy in Mexico City, Mexico, led by ambassador Lilybeth Deapera. It was attended by the Filipino community and Mexican locals who enjoyed every part of the program, especially the workshop on writing the baybayin, where they were able to write their names in the old Philippine script.
KXPH celebrated the anniversary of the declaration of Philippine independence in June with another international outreach project, “Kasarinlan,” in which a lecture-workshop was conducted at the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, United States, for its personnel. The program was opened by Consul General Neil Frank Ferrer who expressed hope that consulate personnel will be reminded that as members of the Philippine Foreign Service and as Filipinos, “they are bearers of our nation’s proud history and rich culture.” We shared an overview of Philippine precolonial history and heritage, the indigenous peoples of the Philippines, and the current roster of Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan awardees. The program concluded with a workshop on writing the baybayin, and allowed select attendees to wear the traditional attires of the indigenous peoples of the Cordilleras and Mindanao.
In the month of August, to celebrate language and history, Samtoy: Lecture-Workshop on Language and Heritage was conducted in various schools in the provinces of Bataan, Rizal, Ilocos Norte and La Union. The title is a contracted Iloko words sao mi detoy, meaning “our language here.” On its actual foundation day, 10 August, the “10 for 10” tree planting activity was held in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, and Malapatan, Sarangani.
To celebrate the National Indigenous Peoples Month in October, Katutubo: A Lecture-Workshop on Indigenous People’s Culture was conducted for employees and staff of the Government Service Insurance System in Pasay City and a webinar for the Filipino and Mexican communities was hosted by the Philippine embassy in Mexico City with resource speakers Anabel Flores, who tackled social justice system, Antonio Dagoc who talked about indigenous spirituality, and Jayson Dala who talked about traditional craftsmanship of the Bugkalot, Menuvu and Blaan ethnic groups.
For its special anniversary projects, KXPH partnered with two master weavers and Manlilikha ng Bayan, Magdalena Gamayo and Estelita Bantilan, to hold weaving training programs for the youth.
Assisted by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Schools Division Office of the Batac City and the municipal government of Banna, the 80-hour inabel weaving training program under the tutelage of Gamayo was held in her hometown in Pinili, Ilocos Norte, with 11 learners in Batch One, producing 38 yards of handwoven textile. Batch Two had 11 students, who were able to complete 44 yards, and Batch Three had 14 completers with 17 yards of output.
The organization, represented by Dala, in partnership with the NCCA and the municipal government of Malapatan implemented a 40-hour igem (mat) weaving program under the tutelage of Bantilan, a Blaan mat weaver, in Malapatan, where eight young Blaan learners completed the training course and each has produced an output of 18-by-12-inch placemat of varied designs.
The 11th Katutubo Exchange program capped off the yearlong celebration in November, observing National Children’s Month and Filipino Values Month. It drew young participants from the communities of Bugkalot in Nueva Vizcaya, Kalinga in the province of Kalinga, Ibaloy in Benguet, Panay Bukidnon in Iloilo, Ati and Bukignon in Negros Occidental, Tboli in South Cotabato and Ati in Guimaras Island. The program had several activities such as outreach projects to Guimaras State University and to the Ati communities of in the municipalities of Buenavista and Nueva Valencia, and an island tour. It was supported by volunteer partners, Angelica Q. Sanchez, Madel Flores and Marla Grace De Guzman.
Turning 10 years old is such a huge milestone for an organization to achieve. It has been a rollercoaster ride for its members but I am so grateful for the trust that it got from numerous individuals and institutions, which supported the cause of raising the level of awareness and appreciation of the public on indigenous cultural heritage and we hope to continue this for the next 10 more years and beyond.