The Mangyan Project
Sustainable jobs for the indigenous Mangyans on the island of Mindoro / Philippines

The Mangyan peoples are the indigenous inhabitants on the island of Mindoro / Philippines. Mangyan means "human being" just as does the Eskimo word "Inuit".
The Mangyans have been living on the island for several thousands of years. They traded with the Chinese and were later partially converted to Christianity by the Spanish who colonized the Philippines in the 17th century.

Mangyans are peaceful people and when they were persecuted by other ethnic groups they withdrew into the forests up the hills. There they survived by collecting fruit, cultivating simple crops and breeding chicken and pigs.

Today, less than 100.000 Mangyans are living on the island and their level of civilization varies from tribe

to tribe. For the most part they are poor and receive little help from official bodies such as the church and humanitarian organizations.

The Mangyan Project was initiated by the owners of the COCO BEACH RESORT which is situated at the northern top of the Mindoro island.
For the past five years the Mangyan were invited to COCO BEACH each Christmas and given food, presents and the opportunity to sell their handicraft to the guests. Eventually the hosts came to the conclusion it would help the Mangyans more to actively improve their living conditions through work and learning opportunities.

As a first step, an Internet auction was held with prizes ranging from air tickets to restaurant meals donated by guests and