|
PAFID
was founded on August 1, 1967 as an "an association of people
interested in the problems of cultural minority groups." PAFID
was formed following a series of regional conferences organized
by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines in the mid-60's
in Sagada, Mountain Province; Ayala, Zamboanga Province; and Silliman
University in Dumaguete City. The conferences gathered anthropologists,
lawyers, academics, missionaries, members of different indigenous
peoples' groups and other advocates to report and assess the problems
faced by indigenous communities.
PAFID's founding members include Fr. Georges Piron, CICM; Fr. John
Rich, MM; Fr. Vincent Cullen, SJ; Dr. Alex Grant; Dr. Rufino Tima;
Timoteo Oracion; and Dr. Yusof Tan. Dr. Nery Diaz-Pascual, an anthropologist,
served as the first Executive Director.
Landmark
events in the defense of ancestral domains in the Philippines, such
as the the Kalinga peoples' resistance against the Chico River Hydro-electric
Dam and the Cellophil Resources Paper Mill in the late '70's, have
shaped PAFID from its inception as a resource center for indigenous
peoples' issues to its transformation as a nongovernment organization
committed to supporting community-based initiatives.
PAFID today is an institution with over 140 members and a staff
of 32 engaged in the development of indigenous social organizations,
ancestral domain management, community-based natural resources management
planning, community mapping, agro-forestry, technical services,
policy advocacy and others. Forty percent of PAFID staff are themselves
members of indigenous communities, and 38% are women.
|
|
