HORSEBACK rides are among the tourism attractions in the village of Dahilayan in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, once one of the province’s most impoverished areas. BOBBY LAGSA/INQUIRER MINDANAO
MANOLO FORTICH, Bukidnon—Tucked at the foot of Mt. Kitanglad is the picturesque village of Dahilayan, one of the most poverty-stricken areas of the province for so many years.
These days, Dahilayan, where the temperature can drop to almost 10 degrees Celsius, is proving to be an economic miracle and is being cited as a success story by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the implementation of its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
The paradigm shift came with the launch of the Dahilayan Adventure Park, Forest Park and Ultimate Bivouac, home of what could be Asia’s longest dual zip line.
The increasing popularity of the ecopark has provided opportunities for villagers to make money, according to Vice Mayor Miguel Demata.
Now, most residents are employed while others found new income-generating ventures, he said. Based on the 2007 population survey, Dahilayan has more than 1,200 people.
Demata said a few years back, 96 households listed in the 4Ps program also partnered with Del Monte Foundation Inc. and the local government of Manolo Fortich. They were given training on skills, household economic planning and home care.
Wenilio Sahonlay, Dahilayan village chief, said increasing economic activity had brought many villagers back.
They now earn enough to send their children to school, he said. “All the village children are enrolled (in school),” Sahonlay said.
Aside from the income that the ecopark brings, villagers also earn from backyard gardening.
Demata said every village in this town has a communal garden “where the communities come together to plant vegetables as we are a town blessed with fertile land.”
The gardens have helped combat malnutrition, according to Demata.
He linked the economic boom of the village, 55 km from Cagayan de Oro City, with a decline in cases of violence against women and children.
“Perhaps because there is food on the table, there are fewer problems in the households,” Demata said.
The Dahilayan experience is proof that when government and private and public institutions work together, meaningful change is possible, he said.
“We want to see these changes continue and we also urge the government to further develop the countryside so we do not have to go to the cities to earn a living,” said Demata.
“We belong to these lands, we can live here,” said Marcelina Embay, a Dahilayan resident. Bobby Lagsa, Inquirer Mindanao