Well, Mel was invited by the Katala Foundation to share her craft with some of their local partners in conservation. Mel designs and sews beautiful mini felt charms of Philippine endemic wildlife, among them the Philippine cockatoo (katala) and the Palawan hornbill (talusi). I was happy to tag along and volunteered to be her assistant.
On our first day, we worked with some of the women from Brgy. Luzviminda of Puerto Princesa and from the town of Narra. Narra is the site for one of the most successful conservation programs of the Katala Foundation so far, and the skills training could provide an additional source of income plus an avenue for educational campaigns.
It was great working with the women the whole day. In the beginning they had a lot to say about the tiny patterns and how cutting the felt almost left them cross-eyed. But as the day wore on, they became obsessed in their hand work and engrossed in their sewing. There was even a bit of competition on who could sew the best looking and the most number of charms for the day!
It was good to be in the company of women with a good sense of humor and who worked well with their hands. At the end of the day-long training, everyone was proud of their work and excited to go full force in producing the charms.
On the succeeding two days, we moved to Iwahig and worked with the medium-security inmates of the Penal Farm. Although the group was very different from the women we had worked with the previous day, there was a similar level of skill, enthusiasm and competitiveness!
Everyone was hunched over their classroom desks, hands busy, caught up in their work. Everyone also was in good humor, stories of all sorts were exchanged while working. Despite having been deprived of liberty, the men were very open in sharing their stories of their lives and giving commentaries on a wide variety of topics.
Upon learning that Mel had yet to see a Philippine Cockatoo in the wild, the inmates began to offer all sorts of suggestions on how she could accomplish getting it on her life list. The Penal Farm after all was one of the sites where the Katala population was re-establishing itself. Almost everyone (not only the inmates, but the guards as well!) had a recommendation: from a specific tree to a specific time!
Thankfully, one of the local expert guides, Mang Arding, who worked at the penal farm and with the Katala Foundation, kept an eye out for any katala while we were there. Upon spotting a lone cockatoo feeding at the manggahan area, he quickly fetched Melanie and me and drove us to the site!
(We were not allowed our cameras and optics in the facility, so all we had as evidence is the story and a few blurry digiscoped photos using Kuya Arding's binoculars!).
While not officially a birding trip, we (myself, the Katala staff, the prisoners, the guards, Mang Arding and Mel of course!) were all happy to that Mel got her katala lifer!
It is always great when different lives intersect and align towards a common goal. Cheers and hugs to Mel for being so generous with her time and talents. It was truly an enriching and unforgettable experience.
Read more about this skills training program by clicking this link: https://bit.ly/2MrKWrf
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