Mt Apo (1,170 m/2,954 m | 3,839 ft/9,692 ft)
Because of my current profession, I am sometimes able to climb mountains for work. I consider it as a perk, while others may consider it as a burden, and despite not being able to document costs for the hike, and despite the hike not being a full one, I will still write about my experiences.
A few months ago, My crew and I visited Kidapawan City to find out about the relationship between the company operating a geothermal power plant in the area and the indigenous Obo Manobo tribe whose ancestral land the power plant sits on.
We visited a number of areas where the company, together with the Department of Agriculture (DA), help out the Obo Manobo people to develop their livelihood: farming.
We first hiked for about 30 minutes to an organic farm called Pad RG where a bounty of produce can be found: bitter gourd, eggplant, ginger, gumbo, pechay, peanuts, radish, siling labuyo, spring onion, and string beans. The company and the DA are helping the locals overcome challenges such as marketing their produce in the locale, sourcing seeds for high-value crops, and learning new skills in farming.
We also dropped by a village where the inhabitants produce whisk brooms (walis tambô), and we also visited a coffee and banana farm. We also passed by the geothermal power plant itself to know about how electricity is produced in a clean and sustainable manner by harnessing the Earth’s heat.
I interviewed the datu of the Obo Manobo tribe about his people, their land, their practices, and their future. He was a very welcoming and cheerful man, and despite our language barrier, we were able to communicate well.
We also had a hearty lunch with all the other datu, farmers, and some personnel from the geothermal power plant.
Despite having only one day to cover the whole area, we were still able to discover a lot about the Obo Manobo tribe, the geothermal power plant, their relationship with one another, and, most importantly, the mountain they all call their home.
