May their tribe increase!

Around a ritual campfire of offering a chicken sacrifice, 37 indigenous youth  Talaandig, B’laan, Bagobos, Manobos, T’boli and Ati  underwent a contemporary rite of passage veiled by tradition. They wore their colorful traditional clothes, oh how proud they were!

These indigenous youth, many of them scholars, graduated as the pioneer batch of a four-year bachelor’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship program from the University of Southeastern Philippines’ Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples. This center is the brainchild and mission of Benjamin Abadiano, a 2004 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, and president of the Assisi Foundation (whose scholars were also amongst the graduates).

The ceremonies were full of symbolisms and rituals — from the offering of sacrifice as thanksgiving to Bathala in the form of traditional dance around the circular altar; walking around a small campfire to enter the gymnasium for the graduation ceremonies; to the offering walk of their crafts and unique produce that symbolized earth, fire, water, air, land, harvest and healing.

How proud these promising youths were as they showed off their special colorful and beaded attire, with bells  tinkling following their every movement. I was in visual heaven feasting at the beauty of colors, trying hard to study the subtle nuances of each tribe’s unique patterns and motifs.

I was at the University of Southeastern Philippines recently to give the commencement address to a crowd of 300 people, many of them were undergraduates for courses in Agriculture and Education among others. 

This group was special as they are the very first batch of indigenous youth graduates that have finished a four-year bachelor’s degree in Social Entrepreneurship. What does this mean?

For someone like me, who moves into social entrepreneurship through ECHOstore, and has seen the development work needed through our ECHOsi Foundation, the importance of nurturing social entrepreneurs and their enterprises to sustainable levels is crucial in answering so many of our societal issues. In schools now, and through business and movements there, is a push to support entrepreneurship — which is good. But the hybrid format that adds the “social” to “enterprise,” this is in such small number and is still misunderstood.

When we started ECHOstore in 2008, many watched and studied us, calling the three founders social entrepreneurs. Then, we likewise studied ourselves and our business striving to make it as sustainable and working towards measuring the impact we had and morphing, defining and walking the talk and theories of social entrepreneurship.

My partners and I have dynamically discussed, argued, collaborated and innovated together on the details of business sustainability and expansion. Hard heads of strong women. Coming together. But what has always been shared is the steady “heart vision” to stretch and embrace the social issues even as we discussed, argued, managed, the creation of a brand-business and lifestyle rooted in sound business, financial and management issues.

So, I am happy now in seeing some indigenous people moving into social entrepreneurship. This pioneering batch represents the core of where social impact needs to be seen in our marginalized communities who are usually our indigenous peoples. These young people are already conscious of clean organic farming, effects of environment and climate changes, poverty, gender, health and education issues. We don’t need to tell them. They know it already and have began taking steps forward this direction.

In the past, our indigenous groups would always need to be seemingly “managed” by outside business, leaders or cultural managers just for them to try to be integrated in mainstream society’s economic progress. Now, these graduates, as social-cultural entrepreneurs, will become the managers, community leaders and business people who will bridge the unique needs of their tribes without loosing the cultural depth, value and richness of the core of our Filipino cultural DNA. These young graduates become the bridges of progress that can and must revitalize dying traditions and indigenous cultures.

The class valedictorian Michelle Saburnido, from the Talaandig tribe in Bukidnon, brought tears to many eyes as she recounted how difficult it was to try to get a scholarship to study and continue the four-year course due to poverty. She persevered with hopes and dreams of a better life for her mother and siblings after her father passed on. I saw in this young woman leader the resiliency, perseverance and potential power of our small people…to forge a better life, preserve their cultural birthrights and venture off as entrepreneurs out to make an impact in their communities.

May their tribe increase!