Every year, I am drawn back to the beauty and magic of the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival. With each visit, Mt. Malasimbo has gradually found a special place in my heart; with such stunning surrounds and a one-of-a-kind experience on offer for each celebration, it is quite hard for it not to. Malasimbo has been a sort of sanctuary for free spirits, explorers, and music lovers in the course of its five-year run. It has been a place where imagination runs wild, and senses go on overdrive; where people gather to marvel and take in a spectacle of nature, culture, music and art.
Little did I know, however, that there was more to my favorite music festival than what I’ve known it to be. Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival has inevitably shaped and changed Puerto Galera in remarkable ways, and all for the better. Here are some of the wonderful causes this cultural event supports, of which I have only come to discover now:
Mangyan groups putting their unique handicrafts on display during the festival
Indigenous Groups
Since its debut in 2011, the Malasimbo festival, along with the D’Aboville foundation has worked to uphold and preserve the rich cultural heritage of the Mangyan groups found in the Mindoro region. The annual event has become a notable source of income for the indigenous groups, who display and sell their woven handicrafts during the 3-day festival at the permanent on-site Mangyan village which the locals have built themselves. I’ve also found out that proceeds from the event contribute to educational projects for the Ambahan and Surat Mangyan, as well as provision of solar energy for the homes of the Iraya Mangyan community.
Tree planting projects in Puerto Galera
Puerto Galera, dubbed as one of “The Most Beautiful Bays in the World”
Environmental Conservation
Aside from causes that support the indigenous people of Mindoro, the festival has also been a staunch advocate of environmental conservation and enrichment. Since 2011, reforestation efforts have been underway, with the partnership of the Malasimbo festival and the D’Aboville Foundation. 1,000 Narra, Mulawin and Acacia trees and 1,000 bamboo shoots have been planted in Puerto Galera from garnered proceeds. Medicinal plants, as well as Narra and Mahogany trees have also been planted on the festival grounds back in 2013, while Mangrove seedlings have been planted along the Puerto Galera bay in 2015.
Tamaraw Preservation
The D’Aboville foundation also exercises efforts in the conservation of the Tamaraw, a mammal species unique to the Philippines and once endemic to the Mindoro region. Due to deforestation and human habitation, however, the Tamaraw has become critically endangered in recent years. The D’Aboville Foundation works closely with Emmanuel Schutz of Noé Conservation, a French non-government organization that works towards environmental and species conservation. The partners are working towards the encouraging the Mangyan tribes to take active part in Tamaraw conservation through the fulfilment of an ecotourism safari in the area.
From its carefully curated lineup of world music acts and up-and-coming artists handpicked to complement its breath-taking natural landscapes, to the special causes it is committed to, it is apparent that Malasimbo is not your ordinary music festival. I’ve known it to be a dynamic and all-encompassing celebration, deeply extending its influence to all aspects it resonates with, and welcoming with open arms the thousands of annual guests that wish to take part in it.
And because we’d like to share the #MalasimboMagic with you readers, we’re giving away TWO 3-DAY PASSES to the Malasimbo Music and Arts Festival this coming March 4-6! Mechanics at the Rafflopter prompt below!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
