Green Moroland

My religion is Islam, and I learned that in Islam, creations are expressions of God's magnificence and presence. As a Muslim, we are taught that cleanliness is half of faith. The earth is an 'amanah' (trust) from Allah, not something to be destroyed, but to take from it sustainably and pass it on to the next generation.

I am a Moro from the Southern Philippines. My cultural identity and heritage are partly born out of the region's unique geography, flora and fauna and the rest of the natural world. When people talk about Moroland, they talk about the conflict, within and without; groups of armed people rebelling against the establishment; or its perceived 'recalcitrant' people, who are quite 'different' from the mainstream. So it will come as a surprise that someone like me or a blog like this is coming out of Moroland. And why not? There is more to Moroland than the stereotypes and prejudices. Few people realized that the root of its history, culture and people, is its geography, ecology and or environment. The environment, geography and its ecology to a certain extend influenced and continue to influence its people, culture and continuing saga for self-determination.

As a Moro, I am a cosmopolitan in blood and brain. Green and sustainable living is also about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, for ourselves and for the world. This is a personal chronicle about my journey and learning into green and sustainable living. This is my personal saga of my homeland's geography, environment and ecology - past, present and future. We know little how these 1G and 2E's influenced our past. We are taking them for granted at the present except to react when natural disaster strikes and forgotten overtime as we move back into our "normal" life. And certainly, we know little about how it will influence and transform our lives in the future.