Trees stand as silent guardians, carrying a vital role in sustaining life here on Earth. From the roots to its leaves, trees provide protection, food, and oxygen to all living organisms. Beyond the beauty they behold, trees also contribute to environmental balance, climate resilience, and safeguarding flora and fauna.
Due to the lack of awareness and knowledge on the value of forests, many individuals engage in unsustainable agriculture practices such as illegal logging, deforestation, and land conversion among others to put food on their tables.
Like the others, residents of Pinamungajan in Cebu once turned to illegal logging as a means of livelihood. Rodolfo Bangiran, the President of Sacsac Farmers Association, found himself in a situation no different from them. Inherited as a livelihood tradition from his parents, illegal logging seemed to be his only viable option at the time.
“We are never going to be office employees, not even cut for construction workers, and we can’t migrate to the city. Our life is here , and our only source of livelihood is through illegal logging,” Rodolfo explained.
In August 2012, Rodolfo realized the negative effects of the practices he himself engaged in. Observing the lessening of water resources like drying up of lakes, the gradual increase of barren lands in their community and increased heat, he knew that these were the results of their actions and he was driven to change his ways.
“That’s why I organized and formed the Sacsac Farmers Organization to realize our mistakes. In 2013, we were fortunate to have landed a project with DENR to plant trees. We switched our livelihood from cutting to growing trees and we were slowly seeing the fruits of our labor to bring back our once lush forests,” he added.
But just when they thought things are getting better, Typhoon Odette struck Cebu in 2020, destroying a portion of the organization’s replanting efforts and their waterways.
Saddened yet determined to get back on their feet the Sacsac Farmers Organization, restarted their journey to cultivating trees this time with another partner coming into the picture.
“The project with RAFI helpful to us. They helped us regain what we lost. [The trainings] really helped us a lot too especially that most of us have never had any form of formal education. We don’t really have the knowledge on what we should really do and what kind of trees should we plant in a specific area. Through the collaboration of RAFI and DENR, we are now more knowledgeable and aware of what should be done,” Rodolfo said.
The Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) through its biodiversity conservation program, One to Tree, champions native tree growing as a means to regain forest cover loss thus mitigating the impacts of climate change.
In collaboration with government institutions like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, people organizations, and other likeminded organizations, One to Tree supports the capacity building of communities, enabling them to take ownership of their initiatives to ensure sustainability and their commitment. Through the partnership with the Sacsac Farmers Organization and other organization, RAFI hopes to develop a disaster resilient community and heightened awareness on the importance of tree growing.
As the members of the Sacsac Farmers Organization slowly get back on their feet, Rodolfo remains steadfast in the journey of growing trees and work towards achieving his dream.
“I may be in the lowest level, I may be poor and behind in education but I have great dreams. One of them is to help my fellow men find livelihood and uplift the quality of their life especially in our community. I’m really glad that RAFI came to us to help us continue and sustain our initiatives that I can pass on to the next generation.” Rodolfo said.
In this journey towards a sustainable and greener world, even the smallest actions, when combined, wield significant impact. The journey begins with individual efforts, radiating encouragement to inspire others to contribute and join the collective mission of saving the Earth.
