Last year, I worked with the Batak tribe in constructing a house in Roxas, Palawan, Philippines. It was not until I researched the Batak tribe that I discovered: this oldest tribe in the Philippines is now "vanishing" according to the anthropologist, James F. Eder, who studied and lived among the Batak for decades.
Being hunters-gatherers, the Batak are ill-equipped to operate in today's market economy. Without access to education, they have a hard time working with lowlanders and finding appropriate jobs, so they can't earn steady income. And with the forest-resources on a steady decline, the Batak are losing more and more of their natural food source, health, and cultural identity.
I was there to see their struggles first-hand because I lived with them too. I worked with them, ate with them, lived in the same house they did. They're the hardest-working people I've seen, and yet they're also one of the poorest in the local indigenous groups. Why? And what could I do to help?
As an advocate for cultural preservation and as an industrial designer myself, I've started a movement to raise awareness on this issue. Together, the Batak tribe and I created Batak Craft: a cultural handicraft shop that supports Batak weavers and fosters an intimate relationship between the Batak tribe and the local and international audience.
You can learn more about the endangered Batak tribe and our efforts to facilitate their transition here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRcpMghllis