Pinanahang ‘A Place to Leave Behind’

The Law of The Jungle

The site is situated in the Northern Sierra Madre Mountains of Northeastern Luzon, Philippines, analysing the zones and buffer zones of the Agta ancestral domain. The project investigates the movement of River and Costal dwelling Agta communities by mapping settlement imprints across their ancestral territory, using nomadic praxis—an adaptive, site-responsive approach that mirrors the mobility and humid fluidity of the last nomadic group in the Philippines.

Ancestral Rights

The Agta’s ancestral land, abundant in natural resources, face increasing pressures from external groups who exploit these territories for commercial purposes of rattan, lobster harvesting and clandestine timber. As a result, the Agta people adapt by following the shifting trails and territories of the valuable commodities, thus navigating new terrains in order to sustain their livelihoods. Utilising the Agta people’s precarious land ownership, environmental degradation, and lack of socio-political autonomy as agencies to learn and unlearn the extractive practices that promotes sedentary lifestyles.