Barangay Tag-oyang, Sibagat, Agusan Del Sur, just showed us what community-led development truly means.

It wasn’t your typical day in this quiet upland barangay. The usual sounds of daily life gave way to something more exciting—laughter, lively discussion, and the shuffle of markers on manila paper. Inside the barangay hall, over 30 committed participants from all walks of life—women’s groups, senior citizens, indigenous peoples, farmers, youth leaders, and barangay officials—came together for a purpose much greater than themselves: a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA).

No, it wasn’t a fiesta. It wasn’t a political rally.

It was something more powerful: a community deciding its future—together.

So… what exactly is PRA?

Think of it as the community version of a strategy session—minus the suits, plus the soul. In PRA, the locals take the lead: they draw their own maps, chart their own resources, highlight their issues, and imagine their own solutions. It’s democracy on a manila paper.

In Barangay Tag-oyango, the process was alive with energy. There were elders who shared histories, farmers who flagged the impact of erratic weather, and youth leaders who stepped up with bold visions. Even the BLGU, led by the hands-on Barangay Chairman, didn’t just sit back—they listened, engaged, and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their people.

Enter: SEA Inc. and IPAT-SIAD

This PRA wasn’t a one-off activity—it was part of a bigger vision under the Integrated Participatory Accountability and Transparency towards Sustainable Integrated Area Development (IPAT-SIAD) framework. Whew, long name—but what it means is simple, and powerful:

Communities should lead their own development.
Governance should be transparent and accountable.
And solutions should be rooted in the real, everyday lives of the people.

That’s the mission of Solution Ecosystems Activator (SEA) Inc.: to turn communities from passive recipients into active designers of their future. Through the IPAT-SIAD approach, SEA builds people’s capacity to reflect, participate, and co-govern—so development becomes something done with them, not for them.

Why PRA Matters Now

Too often, plans are made in boardrooms far from barangays. But PRA flips the script. It turns the barangay hall into the real planning table. It gives power not to positions, but to perspectives—especially from those most affected by poverty, marginalization, and local challenges.

And in Tag-oyango, that meant listening to everyone—not just the loudest, but also the wisest, the most hopeful, the most overlooked.

Because when a senior citizen points out how water sources have dried up… that matters.
When a youth leader shares how they want livelihood, not just basketball courts… that matters.
When women speak about peace and safety in their sitio… that matters deeply.

This is IPAT-SIAD in action.

Not just another project.
Not just another acronym.

But a movement rooted in people, purpose, and participation—and growing steadily from the ground up.

So yes, Tag-oyango may be just one barangay among thousands.
But what happened there is the heartbeat of something bigger.
And if we keep listening, planning, and acting together,
we might just build the future our communities truly deserve.

In Barangay Tag-oyango, progress didn’t arrive in a box. It sprouted—right from the people’s hands.