The launching of the “Dap-ayan Village” of the Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network (AYIPN) was introduced to the public on June 18, 2021 at Baguio City, Philippines.
The project is a program of learning by doing, involving Cordillera indigenous youth who will work together with elders to develop a model traditional Dap-ayan. The Dap-ayan Village will serve as a center for inter-generational learning about indigenous knowledge, especially for youth coming from the urban area, different youth organizations in the Cordillera region and inter-generational exchange among members of AYIPN across Asia.
Dap-ay is a Kankanaey term referring to a traditional community center for a cluster of households, where elders gather to discuss and decide on matters concerning the community such as agriculture, forest management, internal and inter-community relations, among others.
This Village will serve as learning center for the indigenous youth to learn from the elders about indigenous knowledge, which is increasingly being lost, such as traditional house construction, sustainable agriculture, food preparation, health and nutrition, indigenous arts including music, dance and handicrafts. The youth will also learn from sharing with the elders about traditional leadership and how the elders defended the land and resources through building a strong indigenous peoples movement. AYIPN and its implementing partners, Cordillera Elders Alliance (CEA), Dap-ayan ti Kultura iti Kordilyera (DKK) and Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) conducted workshops that would help in the transfer of indigenous knowledge. The project was made possible with the support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development- Indigenous Peoples Assistance Fund (IFAD-IPAF) and Tebtebba.
