AIT visits the Indigenous cultural community of the Tboli in Lake Sebu last May 2024 under the AIT Extension Program Turismo Mismo: Pagtulong, Pagsulong!
This extension activity was conceived after a series of talks and workshops of the UP-AIT together with MB Rosie Sula in the past. MB Rosie Sula, a National Living Treasure (Manlilikha ng Bayan) and Tboli princess chanter, highlighted the need for cultural preservation and promotion of Tboli customs, traditions, and intangible cultural heritage for the development of indigenous tourism in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.
To continue previous engagements with the Tboli, the project served to further the academic and cultural exchange with them by documenting their Indigenous chants, dances, and music. Through the project, AIT hopes to promote and practice indigenous ways of knowing-being-doing, sharing the Tboli customs, traditions, and intangible cultural heritage across generations through ethically responsible and co-managed tourism.
Written by Milovy Mariel Baduria