The Bukidnon Peace and Reconciliation Community conceptualized Sidlak Kalinaw–an Inclusive Growth Initiative, right after the inauguration of Mount Kalayo Institute for Social Enterprise Growth, Central Mindanao University, 06 June 2014.
Sidlak. To shine.
Kalinaw. Peace.
We are seeing the dawn of a strategic, justice-oriented, sustainable peacebuilding which will radiate from, and through, our particular context of transformation-advocacy. Inspired by this vision, a new social enterprise is being born. It has a five-pronged bottom line — people, progress, planet, peace, and profit.
Sidlak Kalinaw is a brain-child of Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Alkuino. Kuya Manny expresses his love for God, for the Filipino people, and for our land through his technological inventions and his pastoral gifts. Pastor Manny leads the Bayani Simbalay, a network of house churches in Bukidnon who advances the transforming power of the Gospel in all aspects of life.
His technological concepts and inventions have been proven to be working efficiently, effectively, and beneficial for pro-people development initiatives. An alumnus of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, he is also an inventor and entrepreneur. In 2002, he was recognized and honored with the Outstanding Research and Development in Industry and Energy Award by the Department of Science and Technology. He’s also the President & CEO of Sidlak Pinoy–one of the country’s leading designers and producers of state-of-the-art agro-industrial machineries and technologies.
But Pastor Manny’s works were mostly ignored by the government agencies mandated to help agro-industrial initiatives.
Dann Pantoja, President and CEO of PeaceBuilders Community, believes that “this neglect of people-oriented technological inventors and innovators by certain government officials is an indicator of political-economic short-sightedness and corrupt practices by many politicians. These patronage politicians,” Pantoja further explains, “would rather import expensive agro-industrial equipment for their own financial interests. Some of them are now in jail for plunder.”
Since Pastor Manny Alkuino became a Strategic Adviser and Consultant at Peacebuilders Community, we have learned to catch his vision, appreciate his dreams, and support his initiatives. He invited us to take part in forming a new company we call Sidlak Kalinaw — the business management and marketing arm of Sidlak Pinoy, Inc. — which will continue to produce new, contextualized technologies for pro-people development.
This, for us, is another stage in advancing Peace and Reconciliation (PAR) through Economic-Ecological Transformation along with our current inclusive growth initiative — Coffee For Peace, Inc.
Imagine! Coffee. Bamboo. Bricks. Green Energy. Safe Shelters. Integrated Livelihood System. Peace and Reconciliation Communities!
Just-Peace will shine through this new social enterprise along with many other social business initiatives in a growing inclusive growth movement. Peace is indeed Good News!
