I was sitting atop our jeep staring at the spectacular landscape of Ifugao when we came to an abrupt halt. A single roar of the engine gave it a kick a few inches forward, followed by a complete standstill. Deep mud had accumulated on the dirt road where, just a few meters away, large boulders from a recent landslide occupied half of the passage. What was a minor roadblock in our journey back happens to be an everyday occurrence for the resilient people living in the village of Cambulo in Banaue, Ifugao.
Black Pencil Project Celebrates 10 Years
Tucked deep within the snaking rice terraces of Ifugao, the quiet village of Cambulo is now a popular hiking destination for intrepid tourists from all over wanting to witness the grandeur of the Cordillera mountains. Home-stay initiatives and community-driven tourism have gifted the village a much-needed economic boost.
Ten years ago, though, it was a completely different story. Almost no one outside of Ifugao had even heard about this village, save for a few geographically knowledgeable travelers and the few dedicated men and women who chose this very place to start a volunteerism movement.
The Black Pencil Project was born right here in Cambulo. This year, in close partnership with the Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines (TPB), they finally came back to the exact place where a decade of sheer volunteerism began.
Good Deeds Come Full Circle
“We chose to celebrate our 10th-year anniversary at the exact place where the Black Pencil Project was born,” proudly stated founder Mon Corpuz.
“I think what made the night truly special was the heartfelt tribute from the kids we had helped a few years back. It was heartwarming to hear them narrate their personal experiences with our volunteers and programs,” he added.
Odessa, one of the original kids who first witnessed the arrival of the Black Pencil Project in their village, is now also an active volunteer for the group. She was in her early grade school years when she gratefully received her very first set of school supplies from the group. Today, she epitomizes the profound saying that every good deed really does come full circle.
10 Years of Smuggling Pencils
Since their very first foray fusing travel, outreach, and community immersion, the Black Pencil Project has steadily grown and evolved into something much larger.
Current active members of the core group, according to Corpuz, are dynamically composed of “young professionals, program incubators, changemakers, and prominent figures in the private sector and social development communities.”
Over the past ten years, they have held numerous outreach journeys, providing hard-to-reach barrios (towns)—from Batanes in the extreme north to as far down as Tawi-Tawi in the south—free access to vital school supplies.
Partnering with the TPB’s CSR Initiative
After working with different partner groups and organizations, the volunteer organization finally found a solid partner in the TPB. Through the TPB’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, it hopes to springboard this recent outreach trip to Cambulo into launching more similar projects all over the Philippines.
“High in TPB’s CSR program line-up is youth education. By acknowledging the Filipino youth as future tourism stewards, TPB through its CSR program seeks to inculcate early awareness of the holistic environmental and community needs enabling green and sustainable tourism,” said Mavic Sevilla, Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Development Head of TPB.
Other than the school supplies, TPB also generously donated financial funds for the immediate construction of a Visitor Information Center to properly brief arriving tourists and actively train locals to practice sustainable tourism alongside cultural and natural conservation.
As our jeepney restarted its engine and cautiously continued to negotiate the sharp, zigzagging mountain roads going back to Banaue, I quietly recollected the joyful faces of the kids receiving their brand-new school supply kits. I felt a powerful ray of hope, knowing that as long as we keep doing such endeavors—no matter how geographically far a community may be—the kids shall be alright.
