On February 12, 2019, the Calamian Tagbanwa indigenous peoples’ innovation on traditional rootcrops for food security was featured in the TUKLAS PASUNDAYAG Regional Innovation Fair for Central and Southern Luzon. This was conducted at Skydome, SM North EDSA in Quezon City. “Pasundayag” was the culmination of the TUKLAS Innovation Labs Projects, supporting organizations and communities develop innovations in disaster preparedness. The innovation of traditional rootcrops for food security in disaster preparedness and resiliency was one of the projects supported by TUKLAS Innovation Labs Philippines. 

The project was implemented by Samdhana, in partnership with four Calamian Tagbanwa communities, through the following organizations: Nurunutan yang mga Tagbanwa tung Calawit may Quezon (NTCQ), Panlaitan-San Isidro Cultural Minorities Development Association (PASICMIDA), and Katutubong Samahan ng Depelenged (KASADEP). 

Setting up of the booths happened early in the morning. The Samdhana booth featured “LASA AT KWENTONG CALAMIAN TAGBANWA” highlighting silipeten, forage food in Tagbanwa dialect, and Tagbanwa culture as depicted through artwork by Jose Abad Santos Memorial School (JASMS) students. Sir Norman Ramirez of JASMS and three students were present to lend support during the Fair. The main products of the booth are the Krukies, short for kurut cookies, Kurut Cake, and Tagbanwa Coffee, offered for free taste. The Fair was opened to the public at 10 am and guests from government agencies, academe, disaster preparedness and response organizations, NGOs, and the general public walked around the interactive booths. 

Commissioner Roy Dabuit of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and Mr. Oliver Agoncillo, Executive Director of the Foundation for the Philippine Environment were the first visitors of the booth. They were very pleased to try and taste the products of the Tagbanwa and proudly endorsed these to other guests. 
Formal opening of the program included short talks about (1) Tuklas Innovation Labs and (2) Filipino Innovations for Impact, and ribbon-cutting. In the afternoon, the nine innovators pitched their ideas on stage. Chairman Ramil Agnes of Nurunutan yang mga Tagbanwa tung Calawit may Quezon (NTCQ) and Ms. Shane Naguit, Samdhana Calamianes Landscape Coordinator, presented the pitch for Samdhana Institute and the partner communities. They captivated the interest of the guests with the Calamian Tagbanwa’s story and experience and how they came up with the innovation idea for food security during disaster. 

After the pitch, more visitors came to the Samdhana booth to taste the krukies, kurut cake, and Tagbanwa coffee. Our partner community representatives Nanay Josie of San Isidro and Chairman Ramil of Calawit actively answered questions. Other guests expressed amazement at the innovation. One said “Napakagaling at masarap. Hindi namin akalain na pwede pala gawing cookies at cake ang nami (another name for kurut), sa amin ito ay marami rin pero hinahayaan lang namin at hindi pinapansin.” 

The guest speaker, Mr. Prim Paypon, Executive Director of the Asian Institute of Management, who has also studied kurut in Palawan agreed how tasteful the cake and krukies were. 

He made several suggestions such as: mechanical grinding of kurut to make the flour really fine, and use of more natural ingredients such as muscovado sugar and goat’s milk to improve texture and palatability. 

The innovation project had ran from March to November 2018. Samdhana partnered with Philippine Women’s University and Jose Abad Santos Memorial School for the project. The positive and enthusiastic response of guests who tasted the final products of the Tagbanwa were very encouraging for Chairman Ramil, who baked the krukies and kurut cake, and to Nay Josie. They aim to further improve their food products, and continue to document the Tagbanwa silipeten for the resilience of their communities. Please visit http://tuklas.ph/innovations/ and https://d.facebook.com/tuklasdotph/ for further information on the other innovations featured during PASUNDAYAG Fair.