ADVOCACY

SPNKK assists Negrito communities to develop a national agenda focusing on the issues of self determination, rights to ancestral territories, access to culturally appropriate education, and promotion of traditional medicines.

CAPACITY- BUILDING

At SPNKK’s core is its focus on strengthening its partner communities through organizational development and leadership skills enhancement.

ECOLOGICAL-CULTURAL RESTORATION

Eco-cultural restoration was identified as a viable strategy to restore the forests and the forest-connected way of life that were lost to fiery pyroclastic flows when Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991. In deciding to undertake the initiative, communities realized the importance of bringing back the forest, of planting trees not for the sake of simply reestablishing forest cover, but of responding to a felt need to restore lost forest resources—the nuts, fruits, and other wild foods that Ayta women used to gather and the wild game the men used to hunt to provide for their communities.

HEALTH & NUTRITION

SPNKK lobbies for the recognition of the role of the Negrito traditional healers in primary health care in Guimaras Province and promotes healthy traditional foods or “food from the forest” through food festivals and Negrito communities’ learning programs.

LIVELIHOOD, RESOURCE ACCESS & CONSERVATION

SPNKK provides assistance with communities’ applications for Certificates of Ancestral Domain Title and applications for harvesting and trade permits for non-timber forest products, development of forest-based community enterprises, and initiatives for the protection of forests within Negrito territories.

PROMOTING CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE EDUCATION

SPNKK promotes culturally appropriate education by pilot-testing a Mobile Forest School program that reinforces Negrito culture.

NETWORKING

Forging new alliances and strengthening existing ones is crucial to SPNKK’s mission. SPNKK establishes trusting relationships with development partners who share its vision.

CULTURAL REVIVAL

The network promotes cultural revival festivals and Negrito youth events in its member communities. SPNKK also collaborates with the National Museum of the Philippines to support the growing permanent Negrito Exhibition and public sessions on various aspects of Negrito culture, with its members acting as key facilitators. The National Museum engagement provides a national platform to connect to a broader audience, raise awareness of the unique cultures of the Negrito groups, and present the on-the-ground realities faced by the indigenous communities.