PHILIPPINES, Barangay Old Bulatukan, Municipality of Malasila, North Cotabato, Mindanao Island - June 2008
Micro-hydro power generator and fruit tree nursery in support of the protection of 744 acres of watershed forest for a duration of 30 years
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Sitio Malumpini of Barangay Old Bulatukan, composed of about 65 Manobo households, is one of the isolated upland communities of Mt. Apo, the tallest mountain in the Philippines at an elevation of over 10,000 feet. The whole of Mt. Apo is already a protected area by virtue of a 1936 edict, but very little enforcement has taken place. The area has some of the highest land-based biological diversity in the Philippines, and is home to many threatened and endangered plant and animal species, including the critically endangered Philippines eagle (monkey-eating eagle). The community relies on kerosene for lighting and fuel wood for cooking. Seacology will fund a micro-hydro power and a fruit tree nursery in support of their efforts to protect 744 acres of forest land within their ancestral domain for 30 years. The project will be administered by YAMOG, a partner organization of Green Empowerment. The fruit tree nursery, to grow highly marketable mangosteens and lanzones, will be planted on existing arable land away from the protected area. YAMOG will also provide technical assistance with the planting, growing and marketing of the crops. 
UPDATE January 2009 - In August 2008 field representative Ferdie Marcelo conducted a site visit to the location of the forest and future micro-hydro power generator and discussed the project with area leaders. The project began in November 2008 and is scheduled to take about nine months to complete the construction and establish the tree nursery.
UPDATE June 2009 - As of April 2009 construction of the weir/intake, headrace canal, forebay tank, pressure pipes and power house were completed. The turbine was also finished being manufactured and is being scheduled for delivery to the site. The transmission lines and poles from the powerhouse to the community have also been procured and are being set up at this time. Some delays are being expected as rains and terrain continue to hamper progress. Nevertheless, testing and commissioning of the micro-hydro power station is being planned for July 2009. The nursery is still under construction but has already begun housing about 10,000 seedlings of indigenous trees. Also, about 8,000 seedlings have been planted in the watershed by the community.
UPDATE August 2009 - As of August 2009 field representative Ferdie Marcelo reports that the community is now being supplied with 10 kilowatts of electricity 24 hours a day from the micro-hydro power station. The mood in the community is very upbeat. Forest Guards, tribesmen on rotation, have been continuously patrolling the watershed and apprehended two would-be poachers last May, whom they turned over to the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer for prosecution. The seedlings from the nursery have been planted on the edges of the watershed. The community is going to construct a permanent nursery where 'wildlings' that the Forest Guards find may be cared for until they are ready for planting. This structure is expected to be completed by mid-October.
UPDATE October 2009 - As of October 2009 the nursery has been completed and, with the help of about 25 Manobo households, it now houses abaca and coffee tree seedlings that will be transferred into the watershed area.
UPDATE June 2010 - As of June 2010 Ferdie reports that the micro-hydro power station is in operation 24-hours per day, but there is a down time of about 24 hours per month for inspection and servicing. The coffee trees have not yet borne fruit, but coffee beans from backyard trees are already being husked and roasted on the electric coffee husker and drier. There are no reports of poaching within the watershed, and it is continually patrolled by the community's forest guards.
Indicates full or partial funding by Seacology UK
