Community Engagements
Building thriving farming communities through partnership, livelihood and education
Our farm in Rizal, Palawan was built with the Indigenous Peoples Community who are our partners and hosts. Through daily work on the farm, our Partner Farm Program and Gabay Kalinga Foundation, we invest in the communities who make our work possible.
In 2025, Gabay Kalinga Foundation's programs reached 1,928 people directly, and more than 1,000 tappers from Palawan communities work on our farm.
In This Section
Lionheart invests in local communities through partnership, livelihoods and our foundation.
Indigenous Peoples Partnership
In 2015, we signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Indigenous Peoples of Rizal, Palawan, and opened our first nursery. In 2016, the partnership received government approval and we planted our first palm.
Today we have planted more than 500,000 coconut palms in partnership with the Indigenous Peoples Community.
We see the Indigenous Peoples of Palawan as our partners and hosts. Their traditional elder structure is part of how we are organized, and we use it for dialogue, conflict resolution and decision-making, so that indigenous ways of life are kept and respected.
In Rizal, where poverty incidence was high, we offer at least minimum wage, social services, pensions and health insurance to virtually the entire host community.
“[Lionheart] contributes to the attainment of protected area management goals by providing livelihood opportunities to local communities.”
Partner Farm Program
Our Partner Farm Program brings neighboring coconut farmers in southern Palawan into the same sap and quality system as our own farm, so their sap can reach the same buyers.
Growing the Local Economy
We are one of the largest employers in Palawan Province, and our growth creates work for businesses around us.
Jobs in Rizal
Employment is the most direct way we improve livelihoods. In 2025 we had 937 direct employees and more than 1,000 active tappers, with tapper earnings about twice the regional minimum wage. We add value to the sap here in Rizal, so the jobs stay here too.
Local Suppliers
Making our bio-organic fertilizer raises demand for local raw materials, and local entrepreneurs supply our construction, catering and vehicle maintenance needs.
Beyond Palawan
We plan to bring the Palawan model to new partner farms in Zamboanga del Sur, Leyte and Misamis Oriental, with support from the Philippine Coconut Authority, the Department of Trade and Industry and local government units.
Gabay Kalinga Foundation
Our non-profit partner for the communities around our farm. It runs programs in three areas.
Visit Gabay Kalinga FoundationEducation
Learning programs that open doors to better opportunities for children and adults.
Livelihood
Skills training and support for small enterprises, so families can build income of their own.
Community Development
Projects planned with the community, so development serves local needs.
2025 in Numbers
41 students in tutorial classes in remote sitios, 397 reached by the Book Caravan, 21 backyard gardening communities, 1,379 reached by Mission from the Heart and 20 program partners. In April 2025, 32 local artisans formed the Balingasag-Dipanga Handicraft Association.
