La Trinidad residents unite to beautify their local community

BENGUET, Philippines – Tourists visit the town of La Trinidad, Benguet to see the strawberry and flower farms and to buy fresh vegetables. Now, there is another reason to make the trip from Baguio City.

June 23 was the unveiling of the Stonehill, Botiwtiw, and Sadjap (STOBOSA) Hillside Homes Artwork – the first and largest community artwork project in the Philippines. It’s a component of the Department of Tourism-Cordillera Administrative Region’s Rev-Bloom Urban Redevelopment Tourism initiative supported by Davies Paints.

The 200 houses that line Stone Hill on Kilometer 3 previously formed something akin to a confusing wall overlooking the Balili river. It has now been transformed to an 18,000 sqm collective canvas brilliantly painted by 520 residents and volunteers. This is a testament to the Bayanihan spirit still alive among Filipinos.

Davies Paints, the country’s number one paint exporter, provided environment-friendly paints as part of its advocacy to beautify the Philippines, give back to communities, and bring color into people’s lives. The local government of La Trinidad provided paintbrushes and rollers and built scaffolding. Tam-awan artists, led by Jordan Mang-osan, designed the connective landscape.

“More than the mural, more than the beautification, you will see the community has bonded together to spruce up their areas,” DOT-Cordillera Regional Director Venus Tan said.

Johnlee Garcia, president of Davies Paints, said: “Davies has always been passionate about finding ways to help improve communities in whatever way we can and this project is a great opportunity to create a big impact in the area. We have a long history of engaging in corporate social responsibility programs and beautification efforts in the country. We’re proud to be a major part of this project and we plan to continue these efforts in the future.”

The project was inspired by the favelas in Rio de Janeiro. The STOBOSA community has pledged to make the project sustainable by touching up the artwork as necessary. Working together has also inspired representatives of the households – mostly women – to commit other efforts to beautify their area such as keeping it clean and infusing life by planting greens.

After their collective effort, the area is now a burst of vibrant and brilliant colors, a welcome sight as you enter the town. – Rappler.com