My shoot of Kiblawan's "Heritage of Pristine Waters" Program

I was commissioned by the Local Government of Kiblawan, Davao del Sur on June 4-5, 2015 for a shoot of its newly-discovered ecotourism destinations located in a far-flung sitio of Lem Saging which is part of Barangay Bagong Negros. It is situated southwest of Davao del Sur and is accessible by any vehicle as new roads going to Lem Saging were recently opened by the LGU in support to its aggressive stance on ecotourism development. Last year they had embarked on a laudable tourism program which they called “Tourism at the Edge,” a niche that is considered due to the geographic location of Kiblawan being situated in the borderlines of Davao del Sur and Sarangani Province. Some destinations showcased in the “Edge” initiative included cultural features of the B’laan tribe, rivers and mountain ranges.

This year, the tourism council of Kiblawan shall again inaugurate another ecotourism product called “Heritage of Prestine Waters.” This is essentially a community -initiated project of the culturally diverse population of Barangay Bagong Negros, a landmass situated in the shared boundaries of Davao del Sur and Sarangani in its terrestrial setting, one is amazed on the formation of three multi-tiered river Tributaries that meet to forge a mighty river.

Aside from the shoot, other events were also conducted purposely to prepare the community of Bagong Negros on tour guiding and technical skills transfer for high angle activity particularly adventure rappelling in an identified sites. I had a brief talk about ecotourism and community tour guiding while my colleagues Ryan Adalim, Lito Roque and the rest of the team handled the lecture and actual demonstration on ropemanship and knot-tying techniques which are essential when their ecotourism program will be launched anytime this year.  

On the second day we visited Nilo Falls, one of the verdant waterfalls in Lem Saging. We demonstrated the basics on rappelling with the eleven trainees personally simulated proper rope anchorage, actual rappelling and belaying. The rock cliff where the waterfalls cascaded was a perfect venue for the training as rappelling will eventually be an option activity for tourist to do while staying in the town. Actually there are other waterfalls in Lem Saging according to our guide Edmond, but because we were running out of time we weren’t able to visit the waterfall series located on the northern part of Lem Saging.

The series of waterfalls In Bagong Negros added another exciting inclusion to the ecotourism package of Kiblawan which was launched last year. For me, this will perhaps be step towards making Kiblawan a truly amazing destination in Davao del Sur. This will also propel economic development in a town which was previously considered as subject of negativity. Honestly, I can say that Kiblawan is another ultimate destination for the brave souls who want adventure activities.  

My salute to Mayor Jaime Caminero for coming up with this initiative of investing into ecotourism and also to Councilor Dicdican and Tourism Officer Rebecca Camporedondo for inviting me in your beautiful town.