LA TRINIDAD, Philippines—Tourists often visit the town of La Trinidad in Benguet to see the strawberry and flower farms and buy fresh vegetables. But now, there is another reason to make the trip from Baguio City.
On June 23, the STOBOSA Hillside Homes Artwork was unveiled. It is the first and largest community artwork in the Philippines. The project is a component of the Department of Tourism-Cordillera Administrative Region’s Rev-Bloom (Rev-Up, Revive, Revisit, Revitalize) Urban Redevelopment Tourism project supported by Davies Paints.
STOBOSA stands for Stonehill, Botiwtiw and Sadjap—the three sitios on which the artwork now stands.
The 200 houses that line the stone hill on Km. 3, La Trinidad previously formed something akin to a confusing wall overlooking the Balili River. It has now been transformed into an 18,000-sqm. collective canvas that’s brilliantly painted by 520 residents and volunteers (The endeavor commenced in January 2016.). This is a testament to the bayanihan spirit still alive among Filipinos.
Davies Paints, the country’s number one paint exporter and number one in colors, provided environment-friendly paints as part of its advocacy to beautify the Philippines, give back to communities and bring color into people’s lives. The local government of La Trinidad provided paintbrushes and rollers and built scaffolding. Tam-awan artists, led by Jordan Mang-osan, designed the connective landscape. The residents and volunteers executed the artwork beautifully, motivated by community spirit.
“More than the mural, more than the beautification, you will see the community has bonded together to spruce up their areas,” DOT-Cordillera Regional Director Venus Tan said.
Johnlee Garcia, president of Davies Paints, said, “Davies has always been passionate about finding ways to help improve communities in whatever way we can and this project is a great opportunity to create a big impact in the area. We have a long history of engaging in CSR programs and beautification efforts in the country; we’re proud to be a major part of this project and we plan to continue these efforts in the future.”
The project was inspired by the Favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The STOBOSA community has pledged to make the project sustainable by touching up the artwork as necessary. Working together has also inspired representatives of the households—mostly women—to undertake other efforts to beautify their area by keeping it clean and infusing life by planting greens.
After their collective effort, the area is now a burst of vibrant colors—a welcoming sight as you enter the town. So the next time you go up North, get your cameras ready. The community artwork will be visible on your right after you cross the La Trinidad arch from Baguio City.