‘Tiny Library’: A new Kalinga community project for 2026

“Neighbors” is Rappler People section’s space for community and human interest stories told in a personal way.

KALINGA, Philippines – Building on our previous two gift-giving activities, in 2024 and 2025, this year we are putting in motion a plan to build a community library in the village of Magmag-an in Lubuagan, Kalinga. We’re calling it the Tiny Library (TL) project, and we hope to have it completed by 2027.

The concept for the TL has been in existence since before I began writing books about the life and folklore of our Kalinga village, stories that won several prizes in 2025, including the Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for best essay in English. The library idea was paired at that time with a longstanding ambition to revive the old classroom in the village so that our local children would be able to study near home instead of having to trek for three kilometers each way on slippery and sometimes dangerous footpaths. 

Our gift-giving exercises involved supplying the children with school stationery in 2024 and with wet weather gear and other goodies in 2025. These efforts were a lot of work, a lot of fun, and very much enjoyed by the kids. Thanks to donors in the Philippines and abroad, we were successful both times and we appreciated the wonderful bayanihan spirit of everyone who participated. After the 2025 distribution, the kids danced for all the attendees and their joy and enthusiasm were thrilling. Rappler generously published accounts of both gift-giving exercises.

Those successes are a reason for why our ambitions have increased in 2026. We want to make a permanent mark this time by building something that will tell its own story in time. We want the TL to be useful beyond serving as a book repository and that in the long run we can attract visitors and tourists to the village to bear witness to our own development ambitions. They’ll enjoy Kalinga hospitality, see our performance culture at first hand, and learn about how we established and maintained ourselves through thick and thin.

The TL project itself involves four components.

The first was getting a suitable lot, which was secured in late 2024.

The second was to get a formal design. For this, a professional architect offered us services pro bono to draw in local style, materials, and culture as a context for the plans. These plans are not yet finalized but they are in full swing. The basic concept is a raised structure, in the traditional Kalinga style, with two book storage sections set off at 45 degrees with a kitchen/pantry/CR unit between them. In front of this small complex will be an enclosed reading/storytelling/visitors welcome center with windows looking out over the valley. When the architect is ready for us to publicize the design, we’ll be delighted to present it. We have ideas on how to make use of the ground in front of the TL, artistic and creative possibilities among them. A sculpture garden is one idea. A flower garden is also envisaged.

The third stage is fundraising. We’re hoping that the sale of our books at the Philippine Book Fair 2026 from March 12 to 15 will be a real boost to this component.

In addition, we have other ideas in the pipeline. We will be reaching out to our friends in the book-loving community for ideas and initiatives. But we would love the support of the public in any way, shape, or form. This will include books and art materials once the buildings are erected: there is plenty of time ahead for whatever support options the public can offer us. 

For the construction, we intend to use local materials, labor and skills to the greatest extent possible. Many types of development don’t seriously benefit the people who live on the land where it happens. Some development actively harms existing communities and pollutes the land. In other cases, development ruins the existing culture and/or displaces the community. 

In my stories, including in my Palanca essay in 2025, the memory of our past way of life and reflection on what we have lost over the years is an important topic. But we have also benefited from some aspects of development, especially things that most people take for granted, like piped water and electricity. With the TL project, we aim to bring good, sustainable change to our community. It will be sourced and managed locally and executed professionally so that every penny raised goes to the cause as intended.

We hope that in this way our Kalinga profile becomes better known. We want to be recognized as reliable people who get the job done and are proficient in what we do. We want to put Kalinga on the map. – Rappler.com