Twinkle "Tala" Alngag Bautista

Tala is the Pilipino term for 'star.' She is a proud member of the Kalinga First Nation and celebrates the fact that she belongs to the Indigenous People (IP). She’s a graduate of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism. Tala completed her Master of Arts degree in Conflict Transformation at the Eastern Mennonite University—Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Tala is Senior Vice President at Coffee for Peace, Inc. and Chief Advocacy Mentor at PeaceBuilders Community, Inc.

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TALAANDIG COMMUNITY FINISHES FIRST WORKSHOP ON SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

26 – 27 Aug 2022. The Talaandig Indigenous People’s community in Sungko, Lantapan, Bukidnon, finished the first of two social entrepreneurship workshops which was jointly facilitated by Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT), led by Dr. Jinky Bornales, and the Inclusive Development Team of PeaceBuilders Community, Inc. and Coffee for Peace (PBCI-CFP IncluDev Team). With the cultural guidance and leadership of Datu Migketay “Vic” Saway, the seminar-workshop focused on generating Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Practices (IKSP) that can be used in their social enterprise ventures. The participants also identified the products that they want to develop as social enterprises.

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2022/08/talaandig-community-finishes-first-workshop-on-social-entrepreneurship/

TO LOVE OUR ENEMIES: CHOOSING NONVIOLENCE WHILE WAILING OUT AGAINST INJUSTICE

Nonviolence is not a fluffy ideal full of rainbows and happily ever afters. It is also not a beautiful dream of the oppressors and oppressed singing Kumbaya together. It is a science that is carefully planned as much as an art that listens deeply to the Kairos moments. It digs deep into a sacredness bigger than myself.

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/06/to-love-our-enemies-choosing-nonviolence-while-wailing-out-against-injustice/

LEARNING FROM MY INDIGENOUS ELDERS ABOUT BIODIVERSITY

Seven years ago, I got into coffee farming and I asked another elder how to know if a tree promotes biodiversity. He said, “Look at it. Are there orchids or ferns or moss in its trunk? Are there birds in its branches? Are there animals that feed off it? Are there other plants and trees around? If yes, then you have your answer.”

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2019/05/learning-from-my-indigenous-elders-about-biodiversity/

INA AND I WITNESSED THE ORGANIZATION OF COMPOSTELA VALLEY COFFEE COUNCIL

“Ina” — our term of endearment for Joji Pantoja, CEO of Coffee For Peace, Inc. — and I were there when the local farmers and coffee industry stakeholders in the Province of Compostela Valley gathered to organize themselves to participate in the national coffee roadmap. They are now referred to as Compostela Valley Coffee Council.

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2018/06/ina-and-i-witnessed-the-organization-of-compostela-valley-coffee-council/

PAR KALINGA PARTNERS WITH NCCA TO HELP DEVELOP BULO EAST SCHOOL OF LIVING TRADITION

The Peace and Reconciliation Community in Kalinga is working in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) as well as with various stakeholders in Barangay Bulo East in Tabuk City to develop the Bulo East School of Living Traditions (SLT). Bulo East SLT started more than ten years ago as a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2018/04/par-kalinga-partners-with-ncca-to-help-develop-bulo-east-school-of-living-tradition/

CAPIZ PAR MOVEMENT EXTENDS TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES

I have this privilege of witnessing firsthand how the pastors apply Peace and Reconciliation (PAR) principles to their lives and ministries. For the past 10 months, a total of 235 local pastors and community leaders from all over Capiz Province have finished the Basic PAR Training. Some key leaders have invited the PBCI PAR Consulting …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2017/03/capiz-par-movement-extends-to-local-communities/

PBCI CELEBRATES WITH TALAANDIG’S “FEED 10,000 JOURNEY”

PBCI celebrates with the first year milestone of the “Feed 10,000 Journey” of the Talaandig Tribe The Talaandig tribe celebrated its first-year milestone of what it considers as a revolutionary effort against conventional farming and food systems. In 2014, the Talaandig started the “Feed 10,000 Journey” which aims to feed 10,000 people in a month. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2015/10/pbci-celebrates-with-talaandigs-feed-10000-journey/

DISASTER SURVIVORS ARE VICTIMIZED BY DISASTER EXPLOITATION

Disaster Capitalism leads to Disaster Exploitation. The former has been explained and used as a framework in our understanding of the Zamboanga Crisis. The latter is an abusive action of the more powerful against the less powerful in times of disaster, taking advantage of the powerlessness of the survivors in the middle of a shock or …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2013/12/disaster-survivors-are-victimized-by-disaster-exploitation/

THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON THE BANGSAMORO: WHY AND HOW WE GOT HERE

Our friends, critics, clients, and network are asking us why we, at PBCI, support the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB). So, we requested Tala Bautista, our senior staff, to share her insights on how the Government of the Philippines (GPH) under President Noynoy Aquino’s administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) arrived at …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2013/07/the-framework-agreement-on-the-bangsamoro-why-and-how-we-got-here/

PEACE AND RECONCILIATION BECOMES PRACTICAL FOR COFFEE FARMERS

PeaceBuilders Community, Inc., in partnership with Catholic Relief Services and Kapwa Upliftment, intensify the advancement of Peace and Reconciliation (PAR) principles and practices among the people in Sitio Pluto, Barangay Balutakay, Municipality of Bansalan, in the Province of Davao del Sur. On 4-5 June 2013, farmers in this community felt the practicality of peace and reconciliation …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2013/06/peace-and-reconciliation-becomes-practical-for-coffee-farmers/

PBCI INTENSIFIES COFFEE FARMERS’ TRAINING IN BUKIDNON

In the interior of the mountains of Bukidnon where banditry is supposed to be rampant, around 180 farmers gathered for coffee training on 10 March 2013. A Higaonon tribal member went to the PBCI office in Davao City, six hours away, to invite us to their place. When we went there, we proved once again …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2013/04/pbci-intensifies-coffee-farmers-training-in-bukidnon/

FROM 650 TO 14,000: PBCI SUBMITS FINAL RELIEF DELIVERY REPORT

There are more than five million people hungry because of Typhoon Pablo (International name: Bopha) and Peacebuilders Community had no available funds for relief operations. On 4 December 2013, Pablo leashed its fury in Mindanao leaving more than a thousand people dead, hundreds of thousands of families homeless and millions without livelihood. Mindanao Development Authority …

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Permanent link to this article: https://peacebuilderscommunity.org/2013/01/from-650-to-14000-relief-goods-delivery-report/

OUR GLOBAL PEACE COMMUNITY

We are sent by Mennonite Church Canada Witness in partnership with our international community.