Clean energy company highlights IPs role in achieving sustainable future

Jobin-SQM, Inc. (JSI), a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corporation’s (NAC) clean energy arm Emerging Power, Inc. (EPI) highlighted the crucial role of the Ayta Ambala community in promoting sustainability during its celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ (IP) Month in Sitio Pastolan, Barangay Tipo, Hermosa, Bataan.

As part of the commemoration, JSI held its 7^th Ayta MasterChef, where members of the Ambala tribe showcased their “Ayta-style” dishes using traditional cooking skills and ingredients sourced from the forest such as wild chicken (labuyo), bilwa, and bilukaw.

Catalina Soriano, a member of the Ambala community, believes that the event is more than a competition – it highlights IPs can support modern development while preserving traditional cultural knowledge, biodiversity, and natural resources for the sustained use of future generations.

“Lahat po ng ginamit sa pagluluto galing sa gubat kaya ang aral ng MasterChef, sa pag-unlad kailangan may matitira para sa kinabukasan ng katutubo na magagamit sa panghabangbuhay,” says Soriano.

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Provincial Officer Ronie Caanawan underscored the importance of celebrating IP Month in empowering indigenous communities as stewards of their environment and promoting sustainable practices to ensure well-being.

Caanawan recognized the support of JSI in honoring the traditions of the Ayta Ambala community, reflecting its commitment to UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 17 – Partnership for the Goals, by supporting programs that strengthen cultural pride, unity, and inclusivity.  He added that the celebration honors the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) which safeguards IP cultural heritage and land.

JSI’s commemoration of IP Month aligns with NAC’s wider sustainability goals which include indigenous peoples’ partnerships, the promotion of cultural heritage, and advancement of environmental stewardship. Through initiatives like this, NAC and its subsidiaries demonstrate how corporate social responsibility can go hand in hand with community development and ecological preservation.

This year’s celebration was done in collaboration with the Tribong Ayta Ambala ng Pastolan (TAAPI) with support from the Local Government Unit of Tipo in Zambales, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and the NCIP.

JSI operates a 172 MW solar power plant in Mt. Sta Rita, Subic Bay Freeport Zone – one of the largest single solar power generation plants connected to the national power grid in the country.