The Balangay Media Project, held in 2021 by the Oscar M. Lopez Center, highlighted the role of storytelling in addressing climate change. The Balangay Media Project culminated with Umalohokan Fellow, Team Bintuwak, winning the final grant for their campaign on the role of indigenous knowledge in developing climate resilience. 

To further encourage turning Balangay Media stories into action, Asia Society Philippines in partnership with the Oscar M. Lopez Center brings Ang Ating Kwentong Klima or Our Climate Story. The project not only highlights the climate challenges featured by the Umalohokan Fellows, but also further explores these themes to better understand the whys and how we can move forward. 

Ang Ating Kwentong Klima is a four-part series exploring four climate change impacts: 

• Kwentong Pagkain, tackling food security; 
• Kwentong Isla, tackling the distinct experience of Filipinos living in an archipelago;
• Kwentong Kultura, tackling the effects of climate change on indigenous communities and the impact on culture; and 
• Kwentong Kinabukasan, tackling climate resiliency and exploring our climate future. 

Episode 1: Kwentong Pagkain

In Kwentong Pagkain, we are joined by Ayn Torres, who will give us a comprehensive talk on what we need to know on food security. This is followed by a conversation with Mavic Conde of Team Bicol Umalohokan, EC Toledo of Team G-Unit, and Christine Jodloman of AGREA on the impact of climate change on food security.

PROFILES: 

Ayn G. Torres is Knowledge Production Manager at OML Center. Her research experience includes climate change adaptation, economics and policy in Philippine agriculture and natural resources, and private sector-led development initiatives. Prior to joining the OML Center, Ayn has been researcher and coordinator for a number of projects at World Agroforestry (ICRAF), a member of the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), and has also served as researcher and guest lecturer at the Ateneo School of Government.  Ayn completed her Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Hohenheim, Germany. 

Mavic Conde is a Bicol-based environmental reporter who has bylines in Bulatlat, Mongabay, and Rappler. She's also part of Bicol Umalohokan, a group that provides communication support for Filipino seed-savers. She is a 2022 LEDE Fellow for Solutions Journalism Network, which helps the group continue its climate action campaign.

EC Toledo is an Umalohokan Fellow from the Team G-Unit. Through “New ways for Nueva Ecija: Climate adaptation in the ‘Rice Bowl’ of the Philippines”, the G-Unit Team, composed of EC Toledo, Gaea Cabico, and Jonathan de Santos, aimed to highlight the impact of climate change on food security.

Through the campaign, the group hoped for farmers in other regions to learn how Nueva Ecija farmers are adapting to and mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events, for communities to initiate adaptation and mitigation efforts, and for decision makers to put forward climate-focused policies on agriculture.

Christine Jodloman is an agriculture advocate, and came from a family of farmers in North Cotabato. She has 8 years of experience in designing and implementing capacity-building programs for rural farming communities, and occasionally writes agriculture features. She is currently the Associate Director of AGREA Foundation, focusing on unlocking the potential of rural farmers, and  youth and women in agriculture towards food systems transformation. 

Christine earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts at the University of the Philippines Mindanao. She studied peacebuilding and development at Hiroshima University. She’s currently taking up her Executive Masters in Disaster Risk and Crisis Management at the Asian Institute of Management.

Ang Ating Kwentong Klima is produced in partnership with the Oscar M. Lopez Center

About Oscar M. Lopez Center

The Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation, Inc. (OML Center) is a non-profit organization born out of a private sector initiative to enhance support for research and innovative solutions towards climate change adaptation and disaster risk management. It is rooted in the principle that science must play a role in building the resilience of communities through actionable knowledge. Founded in 2012, the OML Center was established in response to an apparent research gap that was alarmingly disproportionate to the climate-related risks and vulnerabilities of the Philippines. The first of its kind in the country, the OML Center continues to be the only privately funded grant-giving non-governmental organization (NGO) doing research-based climate change programs and initiatives.