Revitalizing culture and economy of Hanunuo Mangyan: A strategic community development program
Keywords:
community development, community-based heritage, conservation, ethnography, extension program, indigenous peopleAbstract
Indigenous people are recognized as bearers of cultural heritage and stewards of the world’s biodiversity, yet they remain among the most marginalized, often facing poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy, discrimination, and exploitation. Despite numerous interventions, the absence of targeted, evidence-based approaches has limited their effectiveness. The study aims to formulate a strategic community development program for the Hanunuo indigenous community. This study, conducted in the Philippines, where indigenous groups experience marginalization, armed conflict, land dispossession, and environmental degradation, employed a qualitative ethnographic design to gather baseline data for informed policy-making and strategic community development. Using community immersion, participatory observation, interviews, and focus group discussions with the Hanunuo indigenous community of southern Oriental Mindoro, the research identified the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to identify key areas for improvement. Findings revealed that tourism, industry, agriculture, and culture hold high development potential, whereas education and governance need urgent interventions. These findings were presented in a TOWS matrix by Weihrich to facilitate strategy formulation for each sector and were subsequently used to develop a strategic community development plan in the project's second phase. This research offers valuable benchmarks for government agencies, higher education institutions, and non-government organizations involved in indigenous community development.
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The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to ethical restrictions related to participant confidentiality and the sensitive nature of the data. However, the data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and with the permission of the Mindoro State University Research Ethics and Review Committee (MinSURERC).
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