Silip Basura 2 concluded last April 9, 2012 at Sil-ipon, Libona, Bukidnon with the theme: “An encounter of head upstream of Cagayan River after Sendong” aims to form values and mindset of taking good care of our Mother Earth by doing the simple act of picking plastic wrapper and planting trees. Below are the pictures from the recently concluded event. Thank you to Penny Cunanan for the photos.
SILIP BASURA -Caring our remaining watersheds together
The idea of SilipBasura started with an idea of cleaning a place from plastic, a major cause of flood in creeks. By picking plastics and other non-biodegradable materials inculcates the values of local action to contribute to the global desire for a sustainable world. The small band of volunteers choose the Lumad village of Sil-ipon to start the idea. Through the concept of multi-sectoral participation, we work with the Barangay leaders and coordinated with the LGU of Libona for political and policy support. The organizers kept the self-help principle of protecting the environment and not to rely on national government funding. To involve the private groups, the circle of volunteers invited the Xavier University College of Agriculture (XUCA), the Oro Bloggers, TOUCH Foundation and Join Together Society (JTS). The first activity (2011) focused on plastic cleaning. The success of the first activity led to the village ordinance to require all residents to maintain a clean surrounding including the provision of segregation bins in selected areas. In the monitoring done on the performance of the village, the clean and green surrounding was kept forthe whole year.
In the second year, the SILIP BASURA 2012 would still do random check of plastic garbage but will focus on tree planting. The second year will also highlight the reflection through lectures on the importance of protecting the forest. Sil-ipon hosts the headwater of the Bobonawan River, the biggest tributary of Cagayan River and probably the largest contributor to the Sendong Flood that caused the death and loss of more than 2,000 persons.
The goal of SILIP BASURA as an annual gathering is to form values and mindset of caring the divine creation by doing a simple act of picking a plastic wrapper and planting a tree. We hope to replicate to next villages; write a book and teach the next generation of responsible resource stewards.
We expect more participants next year and line up more interesting activities such as the rainforest walk with nature and breathing the healing air of Kitanglad at the top of Mindanao. Dodong Borja