𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐤: 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐚𝐧

Tucked away in the misty highlands of Barangay Minalwang, in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, lies Sitio Kalhaan, a cradle of culture and endurance. This remote sitio is home to the Higaonon tribe, one of Mindanao’s proud indigenous peoples, keepers of ancestral wisdom, forest stewards, and farmers by tradition and necessity.

Reaching Kalhaan is not for the faint of heart. Though it is officially part of Claveria, the sitio remains isolated, untouched by any direct road to or from Claveria. To reach it, one must brave a grueling two-hour journey from San Vicente, Sumilao, Bukidnon, or endure an equally challenging ride from Gingoog City. Some parts of the roads are unpaved, often covered in thick mud, passable only by sturdy 4x4 vehicles. It can be assumed that during rainy season, the journey becomes even more dangerous, with the trail disappearing into a damp blur of sticky earth.

Yet the true wonder of Kalhaan lies not in how hard it is to get there, but in what one finds upon arrival.

As your vehicle finally traverses the last slope, the landscape opens to reveal a breathtaking valley—a place seemingly carved from the heart of the mountains. Towering ridges stand guard on all sides, embracing the community like a protective arm. It is easy to see why it is called Kalhaan, from the Visayan word kalha, meaning a wok or pan. The sitio sits at the center of this natural basin, cradled by green slopes.

Here, time slows. The air is cool, tinted with the scent of damp earth. Birds call from branches. Children’s laughter echoes in the valley. The Higaonon people, with their strength, till the soil with hands hardened by generations of labor, guided by rituals passed down from their ancestors.

But beneath this serene beauty is a history of hardship.

 

A Valley Once Silenced by Fear

Kalhaan was not always the quiet sanctuary it is today. Beneath its breathtaking beauty lies a past scarred by violence and sorrow.

Years ago, this peaceful valley was turned into a war zone, a silent witness to the armed conflict between government forces and insurgents. For the Higaonon, whose only desire was to live in harmony with their land, Kalhaan became a prison of fear. Gunfire echoed through the mountains, and the air was filled with uncertainty.

The community was caught in the deadly crossfire. Homes, fields, and even lives constantly under threat. At times, when the rebels passed through, they had no choice but to feed and shelter them, fearing retaliation if they refused. Their crops were taken. Their movements watched. Their silence demanded.

And so, to survive, they did the unthinkable—they left the land.

Scattered and displaced, the Higaonon people became strangers in nearby communities. Many bore the pain of being uprooted, living in borrowed spaces, working in unfamiliar soil, and always longing to return home, but unsure if they ever could.

 

The Long Road Home

It was not until 2019 that a new dawn broke over Kalhaan. That year, the Philippine Army established a detachment in the area which also has become a pledge of protection for the displaced tribe.

In a gathering, under the shadow of the mountains, soldiers met tribal leaders, not with weapons raised, but with hands extended in peace.

They gave their word: “Return. Rebuild. You will be safe here.”

It was not an easy promise to trust. Memories of fear do not fade quickly. But the Higaonon are not people of fear. They are people of faith, soil, and spirit.

So, one by one, they returned.

With courage born of roots too deep to sever, families rebuilt their homes, children once again played in the fields, and elders whispered chants of thanksgiving to the winds. The community stood together not just as survivors of conflict, but as keepers of hope.

Kalhaan started to rose again not just from soil, but from ashes of displacement, guided by the will to reclaim not only their land, but their dignity and peace.

 

Presence Before Promises

In 19 January 2021, under the banner of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), a new kind of movement began to stir in the highlands of Kalhaan. After decades of being forgotten and left to endure silence, fear, and displacement, the sitio finally became a priority in the nation’s quest for lasting peace.

The Government, through a whole-of-nation approach, made a united front where agencies, the military, and even private sector partners would come together, not just to combat insurgency, but to rebuild lives of Kalhaan.

Convoys came. So did promises.

One by one, agencies arrived, bringing with them tools, equipment, relief goods, and seeds, among other, which are tangible signs of government presence, loud and heavy with purpose.

But when the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) arrived, it brought nothing.

No giveaways. No machines. Not even a single sack of fertilizer.

Instead, ATI brought something often overlooked, yet far more powerful: Presence. Patience. And the willingness to listen.

Where others came bearing gifts, ATI came bearing questions. Where others offered tools, ATI offered time. Where others came to speak, ATI came to listen.

ATI walked with farmers through the fields, sat beside mothers in their kitchens, and spoke with elders. It observed quietly. It took notes. It did not pretend to know what the community needed; it allowed the community to tell them.

ATI understood something many forget: True help does not begin with giving. It begins with understanding.

Through ATI’s needs assessment, it became clear: the community’s true desire was not charity. It was capacity. They did not want to be passive recipients of aid. They wanted to learn, to reclaim their roles as stewards of the land, and to ensure that their children would never again have to choose between fleeing and surviving.

And so, ATI made no promises, only commitment: To pursue. To train. To build something sustainable. Together.

 

The Magic of Partnership

After the needs assessment, ATI saw what truly mattered: a community willing to learn, to grow, and to rise with dignity.

The Higaonon people of Kalhaan were not waiting for handouts. They were ready for knowledge. They were ready for change.

This was not the first time ATI had walked alongside an indigenous community rebuilding its roots. ATI had carried out countless interventions in the past, but never alone. ATI knew that real transformation blooms not just through technical skill, but through shared values and trusted partnerships. And so, into Kalhaan stepped an old friend with a heart for the land and its people: Greenminds, Inc.

Led by Reynaldo Gil “Datu Makadingding” Lomarda, Greenminds, Inc. is not just another NGO. It is a self-sustaining, service-driven social enterprise born from the conviction that communities can protect the earth and prosper with it. Their approach is simple yet radical: train communities in organic agriculture, empower them to become producers, and then ensure sustainability by becoming their market.

They do not just train. They buy back.

Greenminds, Inc. had done it before in of Barangay Kiabo, Malitbog, Bukidnon, another indigenous peoples’ community once faced with poverty and disconnection. There, they taught organic farming techniques, provided starter kits, and showed the people how to process their own produce.

The result? A once-struggling sitio that is now a stable partner and supplier of raw materials for Greenminds’ growing line of organic products.

And now, the vision for Kalhaan was within reach.

With ATI laying the groundwork and Greenminds, Inc. taking the community’s hand, the seeds of transformation were finally sown. This time, it not just planting vegetables, but the future. The future that is built not on dependency, but on dignity. Not on aid, but on ability. Not on promises, but on partnership.

 

The Seeds of Transformation

Then, the real work began.

The days of listening gave way to days of doing, the kind of work that does not just change communities, but restores spirits.

With ATI’s support and the steadfast commitment of Greenminds, Inc., the valley of Kalhaan stirred once more, not with fear this time, but with hope.

On August 18–20, 2021, the very first training was conducted: a Training on Social Preparation. This was not your usual training filled with charts and handouts. This was the planting of something deeper, a new mindset. Funded by ATI, the training focused on sustainability, unity, and forward thinking. It was a time of unlearning and relearning where farmers became visionaries, and tribal youth began to see not just crops in the soil, but potential in their hands.

That single step opened the floodgates.

By February 20–22, 2022, Community Entrepreneurship Skills Training for Tribal Women and Youth was rolled out—this time focusing on something familiar, yet filled with new possibilities: Peanut Production. With peanuts as their starting point, the community began drafting their first community enterprise project proposal. It meant both income and purpose. For the whole community, it meant a future they could finally plan, not just hope for.

Then came the bees.

On May 3–5, 2022, another training funded by ATI was introduced—Stingless Bee Beekeeping. Kalhaan, as it turned out, was teeming with native stingless bees. Where others saw mere insects, the community now saw livelihood and ecological harmony. They were taught how to care for the bees and preserve the delicate balance between farming and nature.

But Greenminds, Inc. did not stop there.

Beyond the scope of ATI’s funding, they went the extra mile, not out of obligation, but out of love for the community. They conducted training on Herbs Production, recognizing the potential of Kalhaan to produce organic herbs. And where there was need, they answered it: a ram pump to bring clean water, and solar lights to push back the darkness, both literal and symbolic.

Each training. Each installation. Each act of service, a small miracle in the rebuilding of a life once fractured by war.

What ATI gave was not just funding—it was faith. Faith in the capacity of people to grow when given the right soil. Faith in partnerships that do not wither after the first harvest. And faith in a community that once walked away from its home, now walking back, not as victims, but as custodians of their own future.

 

A Market that Trains, a Market that Buys: The Heart of the Buy-Back Scheme

And then, it happened—the most powerful shift of all.

From planting hope, to harvesting dignity.

As the first harvests rolled in like peanuts drying under the sun, hives of stingless bees, herbs growing strong in the cool mountain air, Kalhaan found itself standing at the edge of a question that haunts many farming communities:

“Who will buy what we have worked so hard to grow?”

This is where many efforts fall apart. After all the training, after the labor and sacrifice, small farmers often face the harsh reality of market disconnection that is too far, too uncertain, too unfair.

But not here. Not in Kalhaan.

This time, the community was trained by the very market that would later buy their produce.

This is the quiet genius and soul of the Buy-Back Scheme, pioneered by Greenminds, Inc. in Region X, and nurtured through the unwavering support of ATI.

In the corporate world, a buy-back scheme is a financial strategy where companies buy back their own stocks. But in Kalhaan, this idea found its heart. Here, it meant security. It meant trust. It meant that every peanut planted, every beehive cared for, and every herb cultivated, already had a home.

Greenminds, Inc., with its organic product lines and deep commitment to sustainability, promised to buy back the community’s harvests, if they followed the same protocols they were trained with.

And the community did more than comply. They blossomed.

This was no ordinary buyer. This was a partner that walked with them, trained them, believed in them. No middlemen. No exploitation. No heartbreaks of rejection at the market gate.

For the first time in a long time, the Higaonon people of Kalhaan did not have to leave their sitio just to find worth. The market came to them not as strangers, but as allies.

This is the true power of the buy-back scheme:

• It completes the journey—from planting the seed to selling the harvest.
• It eliminates uncertainty—they know their harvests will not rot and their hard work was valued.
• It empowers—because they are no longer mere producers; they are now supply partners of a mission-driven enterprise.

And more than money, it brought something money can never fully buy: Pride. Purpose. Peace.

In every peanut bought, in every hive sold, in every bundle of herbs picked up by Greenminds, Inc., Kalhaan tells a new story:

A story of return.

A story of resilience.

A story where the mountains no longer echo with gunfire, but with the quiet, joyful rhythm of lives rebuilt through land, labor, and love.

 

Kalhaan: Where the Mountains Now Whisper Hope

Today, Kalhaan is no longer just a sitio at the heart of a valley. It is a living story—of return, of resilience, and of rising with dignity.

Once silenced by conflict and neglect, the mountains now echo with the sound of progress and purpose. Solar lights glimmer where darkness once ruled. Children run freely through gardens where fear once took root. And every harvest of peanuts, honey, herbs is no longer just food on the table, but proof that they have reclaimed what was theirs all along: their future.

But this did not happen because aid was dropped off and left behind. This happened because someone stayed to teach, to guide, to walk with them.

When others brought donations, ATI brought presence. They brought minds that listened, not mouths that dictated. They brought hands ready to work alongside the community, not just hands that gave.

ATI and Greenminds, Inc., helped Kalhaan not by giving what would run out tomorrow but by building what would last forever: skills, systems, and self-worth.

“These people do not need mercy or pity,” shares Reynaldo Gil ‘Datu Makadingding’ Lomarda, the visionary behind Greenminds, Inc. “They need help through training and empowerment. Their industry and hard work have never been in question. We only needed to convert that hard work into income. That is what we have done here in Kalhaan.”

And with a quiet, humble strength, the people of Kalhaan did the rest. They learned. They worked. They grew.

Now, their ancestral land, once abandoned in fear, is thriving not just with crops, but with clarity, confidence, and control over their own destiny.

“Thank you, ATI, for bringing Greenminds, Inc. and Datu Makadingding to our people,” says Jofilo ‘Datu Malibayo’ Pina-andel, their tribal chieftain. “If not for you, we would still be groping in the dark, unsure of what to do with our land, or how to make it provide for our families.”

Kalhaan no longer waits for help to come. It has become the help it once needed.

Like the kalha, from which Kalhaan draws its name, this sitio has become a vessel of transformation. A place where raw ingredients of soil, sweat, skill, and solidarity are stirred together over the steady fire of hope and hard work. It has become a vessel of nourishment, not just for the body, but for the soul of a people long forgotten.

Something greater than crops now grows: a future stirred with knowledge, seasoned with unity, and served with pride.

Kalhaan is proof that when you teach people how to work their land, connect them to markets, and walk beside them, not ahead of them, you do not just feed them for a day. You feed generations.

Kalhaan’s story has only just begun.