AETAs
(Development Program for the Aetas)

A community-based development program involving the indigenous people or Aetas in the province of Pampanga. The program utilizes a more defined development framework complementary to the unique cultural and social conditions of these special people in a a permanent community setting.

SACOP is presently working with 250 Aeta families in the mountain settlement of Sapang Uwak in Porac, Pampanga (Philippines). SACOP’s work over the past five years encompasses:

• The restoration of community structures and development capacities of the Aetas as families returned to their original settlement;
• The consolidation of the different efforts and interventions of agencies and institutions in the community;
• The establishment, development and institutionalization of a multi-purpose cooperative and operation of a consumer store that serve the day to day domestic needs of the community;
• A reforestation project for the rehabilitation of watershed areas;
• The harnessing of natural spring to supply the domestic water needs of the families ; the formatin of a management committee and the training of its leaders on water management; and
• The preparation of social map and establishment of genealogical structures of the community for the acquisition of Certificate of ancestral Domain Title (CADT).

Our partners in this work are:

• Embassy of Japan in the Philippines
• EVA Charity Foundation
• National Commission for the Indigenous People (NCIP)