The UP Resilience Institute – Research and Creative Work Division (UP RI-RCW) forges a partnership with the CAL Foundation Inc. (CALFI) in the implementation of two major projects.
Last October 11, 2024, the UP RI team represented by RCW Director Glecy Atienza, Chief Science Research Specialist Dennis de la Torre, and Junior Project Assistant Alexa Hernandez had an exploratory meeting with CAL Foundation Inc. members Dr. Ma. Milagros C. Laurel and Dr. Flora Elena R. Mirano. The UP RI discussed the overview of two major projects under the umbrella project entitled “Inn Lab na Tayo”, which are the Inn Diliman project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the TANIM project funded by the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC).
During the exploratory meeting, UP RI discussed the Inn Diliman project funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. In essence, this project is carried out by a consortium of five universities: Tufts University, Universidad de los Andes, Makerere University, University of the Philippines, and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. The project aims to produce a landscape report that will explore the roles and mandates of government and non-government actors, and how triggers for Anticipatory Action relate to traditional humanitarian response. Furthermore, the project will also execute an innovation laboratory to create a community of practice for sustainable and creative community-led industries in the form of a “marketplace”.
Aside from the Rockefeller-funded project, the UP RI team also initiated the discussion for the Tanim project funded by PITAHC, which aims to popularize herbal gardens in green jobs generation and enterprise development as a nature-based solution in addressing climate change and health. With the Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) in Zamboanga City as the target beneficiaries of the project, it also aims to draw lessons from local knowledge on herbal medicine, as practiced by indigenous communities in the regions to highlight the significance of traditional medicine in developing resilient communities.
The CALFI members expressed their excitement about the potential collaboration with UPRI for the two major projects. Dr. Laurel and Dr. Mirano commended the idea of the projects and also gave valuable insights on how these projects can be further developed and improved in terms of project implementation and management.
The UP RI Team is looking forward to continuing the partnership with CALFI in the implementation of these two major projects. Follow-up meetings to further discuss the projects are expected to be scheduled soon since both projects are set to start before the end of the year.