Community Takes Lead: A Sesotunawa Announcement

For the past few years, Sesotunawa has been more than a project to me. It has been a working relationship built with trust, patience, and shared responsibility alongside our Tboli partners in Lake Sebu.

From the beginning, the vision was clear. Sesotunawa was never meant to depend on volunteers forever. It was created to become a community-owned enterprise led by the very artists whose culture and skills give it life.

The word itself carries that intention. Sesotunawa comes from the Tboli words “sesotu,” meaning to make one, and “nawa,” meaning spirit. It speaks about people working together toward a common future. That principle guided how we built the organization from the start.

In the early years, volunteers supported marketing, logistics, and systems while the artists focused on production. Over time, the goal was always to transfer knowledge and responsibility back to the community.

After the pandemic, this direction became more urgent. We saw clearly that survival depended on stronger community participation. We began intentionally creating opportunities for leadership within the artist team.

Ate Henia stepped into community coordination.

Ate Jenneth began managing financial records.

Kuya Joel took responsibility for production planning.

Later, Ate Dionesia joined to support sales and manage pop ups and bazaars.

Progress did not happen quickly. Training while running daily operations required discipline from everyone. There were mistakes, adjustments, and repeated learning. What mattered was that decisions were gradually moving closer to the community.

One conversation with Kuya Joel marked a shift for me. During a reflection about our journey, he said quietly, “Sir, pwede kami naman mag decision.”

That sentence showed readiness. It also clarified what leadership required from us. When people ask for responsibility, the next step is to give it.

We began preparing for transition.

Over the past months, our volunteers intentionally stepped back from daily operations. The team in Lake Sebu organized their own marketing activities, prepared inventory, and ran selling events with minimal assistance. Our social media platforms became quiet during this period because we wanted to observe how systems would function without external management.

The pause gave us useful information. It showed strengths, gaps, and opportunities for support that respect community ownership.

In the coming weeks, our social media presence will become active again. This time it will be managed by Kath Blunto, Kuya Joel’s daughter, who is currently pursuing a college degree in Marketing with the support of this community. Her involvement represents continuity across generations, which has always been part of the long-term vision.

Volunteers are stepping back from operational roles, but we remain connected as partners, mentors, and supporters when needed. The direction remains the same as when we started. The difference now is that the community is ready to lead more of the journey.

This milestone belongs to everyone who believed in the work, purchased products, shared stories, and trusted the process.

Henlos tekuy sesotunawa.

Karl Lozano - Co-founder