Bituen Eco Volunteers

( To View Slideshow, please click here. ) More than just spending and seeing, feel and experience rural and back-to-basics community life. Travel in rural community  Philippines at the not-quite so-remote barrio of Santo Tomas in northern Luzon. Santo Tomas is the mother barangay of the town of Santo Domingo, in Ilocos Sur, Philippines. Legend has it that the first priest of Santo Domingo have chosen the eastern barrio for its snaking river and friendly locals. Throughout the years, the Spanish bar/tiled remnants of the priest's chapel have been removed, and that the farmer tilling the land have since unearthed antique plates and jars within the area. However, the place now teems with variety of local fruits (you can actually ask for FREE from neighbors!), and to sample a common view: Visitors / travelers from Asia (China, Japan, Indonesia), Europe (France, Russia, Croatia, Poland) have found the people friendly, so much like many rural folks in the country as biker...

More than 500 students from the University of Northern Philippines and DepEd's Alternative Learning System joined the free Sustainable Living & 3Rs Forum & Workshop last December 6 held at the UNP Auditorium. DepEd's ALS learners led by Mr Anselmo Aludino, teachers Julia Formoso, Bonifacio Balderosa, Silver Rabang, Joseph Obrero, Lawrence Agtutubo, Janet Bersamina, UNP's Mariquit Obrero (middle, in white ), Margaret Cruz (in black) and Cris Valmoja (in yellow). More photos here .   Resource speakers for the said forum includes women's right and environment advocate Professor Miriam Javier for Agenda 21 , sustainability advocate Margaret T. Cruz on Global Trends in Sustainability, another environment advocate professor Engr. Nino Tablada and I-Save representative Cris Valmoja updated the audience about current situation of the Ilocos Sur environment. The afternoon was spent on 3Rs projects including paper recycling, biodegradable waste recycli...