The past year has been a very challenging season for tourism in the Philippines, but it is now more than ever that Filipinos are learning to support local enterprises, supporting our own talents, and establishments. Banking on the potential of local talents and the undeniably wonderful natural resources of the country, Tito Toto of Mount Purro Nature Reserve shares with us the story of how he was able to inculcate responsible and sustainable tourism for the locals and visitors of Brgy. Calawis in Antipolo City.
One of the blooming sites in the realm of eco-tourism is the Mt. Purro Nature Reserve, a place of solace found in Brgy. Calawis, Antipolo City. Around an hour and a half drive away from Manila, Mt. Purro Nature Reserve, commonly called MPNR was founded by Toto Malvar as he lives a life guided by the teachings and values of his mother who raised him in humility and his grandfather, General Malvar, who greatly influenced his sense of philanthropy and aspirations. “You have to have a purpose in mind,” an echoing line Toto inherited from his mother.
It was in 1960, right after the destruction brought by Typhoon Lucille, when Toto’s mother told him to go to Sierra Madre and plant trees. Since then, he has carried an intention to go to do so. But it was not until Toto turned 40 that he was able to live the seed that his mother has planted in his heart. According to Toto, the EDSA revolution awakened the sense of purpose in him.
“The EDSA Revolution was a game changer for me. We were able to oust a dictator through sheer people power,” he uttered still with a hint of disbelief and awe after decades of living through the revolution, “Then it dawned on me – kung kaya mapaalis ang dictator ng wala tayong pera, wala tayong posisyon (if we can oust a dictator without money, without direct power and political position), we can use the same people power to bring back the beauty of the environment”, he further stated. By then he knew it’s time to go back and rekindle his connection to home, the mountains.
“You have to find out your purpose in life. You cannot just go through life na parang walang nangyari (not caring about what happens). You have to find out what God is asking you to do,” Toto shared his mother’s teachings as if it was a principle he unquestionably had to live by.
With his mother’s teachings engraved in his heart and mind, Toto did not settle for “ordinary” days, he wanted to live a life of meaning. He was around 30 years old when he came across the community of Calawis where he met people whom he will later treat like family. After spending a few nights with “strangers” who welcomed him like family, Toto realized he has found a land worthy to be the subject of his environmental advocacy. He found so much potential in the land that while he was in the middle of raising seven children, he decided to stay in the mountains of Barangay Calawis, live a simple life, and plant trees out of his own pocket. The more time he spends with the locals, the more he moves closer to finding his life’s purpose. The citizens of Brgy. Calawis saw Toto’s genuine heart to help the people. They welcomed him like family and started calling him “Tito Toto.”
But the journey was not easy. Tito Toto came to Brgy. Calawis with a clear environmental advocacy, but the community had a different priority. The locals have been living in Mt. Purro with an intention to survive. While Tito Toto wants to focus on reforestation and planting more trees that will support biodiversity in Mt. Purro and protect the lower areas like Marikina and the rest of Rizal from future floods, the main concern of Calawis residents is to make a living out of their limited resources in the mountains. Upon realizing the misalignment but very understandable differences between their priorities, Tito Toto and his wife took a step back and reevaluated their approach.
They were technically “foreigners” in the land, and they realized the need to understand the local community on a deeper level. They realized that moving their advocacy forward would entail working with the local communities and actually helping them create a more sustainable way of living. Environmental impact and sustainability are both understandably not a default priority for majority of the rural communities whose most important needs would include procuring basic necessities like food, healthcare, and education.
Understanding these limitations did not stop Tito Toto and his wife from moving their advocacy forward. In fact, the more they understand the needs of the people, the more creative they grew in terms of developing programs for the welfare of the community. They figured that the best way to start helping the Mt. Purro community is by empowering the people socially. Instead of being boxed by their environmental intentions, they effectively involved more and more locals to their project by creating simple yet sustainable ways of helping the citizens of Calawis.
They created a system that put the community at the center and allowed their livelihood to flourish. Tito Toto and his wife started empowering the community with simple grassroots activities that indirectly instilled communal values among the people. In order for Calawis residents to join the program, they have to commit to three things: devoting three hours of community work such as cleaning the streets, volunteering at the clinic, or helping at the community school, devoting another three hours to pray or join church activities, and three more hours saving Php5.00 per day. In exchange of the community members’ commitment to these social, environmental, spiritual, and economic efforts, Tito Toto and his wife committed to provide healthcare for these members through basic medicines and consultations with doctors. To add to this, they also provided educational and job opportunities for the community.
By now, MPNR has already supported a total of 50 graduates. With the growing services of MPNR, more and more locals are also being involved in the nature reserve’s daily functions like cottage maintenance, kitchen errands, accommodations, etc. Until now, people still come to MPNR to deposit and withdraw money. Tito Toto is very proud to say that slowly but surely they were able to go beyond cultivating financial discipline in Brgy. Calawis, the Malvar family has created a social enterprise that positively impacts the workers, the guests, and the environment. What started as a desire to plant trees have evolved into a sustainable advocacy that promotes the good beyond environmental responsibility.
Today, MPNR takes pride in its social enterprise that thrives in staying true to their commitment to put God, nature, and people at the center of their existence. For Tito Toto and his MPNR family, this is the true measure of success. Everyday, MPNR’s staff members would walk around, serve guests, and welcome everybody with a common encouraging vibe as if saying “Ito ang ginagawa namin dito, sama naman ka’yo (this is what we do here, join us)” The MPNR family believes that every one of us is a steward of the land we are living in, and every guest is invited to join Tito Toto’s mission of making this world a better place, one guest at a time.
While there are limitations to people’s mobility because of the pandemic, we are very glad to see both Filipinos and foreigners visit MPNR to commune with nature, to #DisconnectToConnect. Visiting MPNR is a breath of fresh air, literally and figuratively. The nature reserve is nesting in the middle of the mountains, with activities like mountain climbing, river crossing, nature bathing, and more. The nature reserve is excited to welcome more guests across different economic backgrounds to their new outdoor activities and facilities.
Beyond the sanctuary he built for his family and community, Tito Toto envisions a Philippines that is more supportive of social enterprises like MPNR. The industry has come a long way, but there is still so much to be done. In the words of Tito Toto, “You have to make money doing good – this is how you can sustain your good work and increase positive impact. Social enterprises nowadays are challenged to be creative, not just in offering unique products and services, but more so with how they source their funds to pursue their advocacies. Social enterprises in the country need more support from our government and from our people so they can keep on doing the good they have started.”
Tito Toto built Mt. Purro Nature Reserve to serve as a starting point, an inspiration, and an evolving case study of how we can institutionalize doing good, and monetize our passion points and advocacies that we may be able to “keep on doing good” and paying it forward. MPNR is a clear case of how good intentions can make ripples of positive impact across rural and urban communities, with the adequate support from the private sector, the local government, and most importantly from ordinary individuals.
