Upland Forest Rehabilitation Project

OISCA Ajuy led by Mr. Jett Rojas organized training on Sustainable Forest Management involving the 86 typhoon survivors and members of the local government of the upland community of Barangay Badiangan in Ajuy, Iloilo. The resource person during the two-day training was Engineer Jose Ronie Esposada of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Mr. Esposada emphasized among the participants the importance of having a good balance between the community residents` increasing demands for forest products and the maintenance of a healthy and diverse forest.

Prior to the training, the community residents were organized through a meeting to identify and find solutions to the socio-economic and environment related problems in their community. As a result of the meeting, the participants realized and agreed on the immediate need to immediately rehabilitate their community forest that was damaged by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. After the typhoon, the survivors realized the importance of protecting their forest as it will soon serve as their natural shields from natural disasters.

Meanwhile, in preparation for the scheduled massive tree planting activities in June until July, a nursery with a dimension of 20 ft x 60 ft and has a capacity of 15,000 seedlings was built in Barangay Central. For easy maintenance, seedlings will be grown and raised in the nursery and will just be hauled in the planting site during the tree planting activities. So far, the locals have prepared 8,500 pots for jack fruit, calamansi, star apple, coffee and tipolo seedlings.

Other than the rehabilitation of the devastated forest of Ajuy`s upland communities, OISCA is also implementing income generating projects to improve the quality of life of the typhoon survivors such as duck raising and egg processing, honey bee production and sustainable crop diversification both coastal, lowland and upland communities of Ajuy.