Inspiring, empowering, humbling. These come to mind when reflecting on this year’s pawikan breeding season in our community hatchery in Pag-asa, Bagac, Bataan. The sea turtles, the hatchery and the volunteers, and the community did so well!
From around 120 nests on our first season, we have over 320 now. That is almost 8,000 eggs before, jumping to around 27,000 today. Over 300% increase! Some days, we released 500 hatchlings at a time, others over 700!
We have also seen more juvenile and mature turtles, and of varying species, too! Before it was all Olive Ridley, but now we see Green Turtles and the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtles, too.
The pawikan attitude must have rubbed off on everyone. I am referring to the process of sea turtle hatching. The strongest eggs at the bottom of the nest hatch first so they can lift everyone around them. In one united effort, the hatchlings climb out of their hole, from being buried in the sand and out into the world above.
More people brought eggs to the hatchery. The fishermen are more aware of the importance of pawikan in the sea. More volunteers help. The community is understanding the advocacy more. More locals and Filipinos adopted nests. There is more buzz about the pawikan online. Even the government noticed our small hatchery, as well as local organizations who pledge their support.
Still, the hatchery is powered by individual donations. With humble hearts and much hope, we share our advocacy and speak for the turtles. Friends and family, business owners, local organizations, and mostly strangers that follow us on Instagram answered! It was all amazing and humbling at the same time. These people believe in the turtles. These people believe in us.
Also, we are finally an offical non-government organization! With help from my best friend Rem, our grassroots, humble hatchery is now registered and recognized by law as the Pag-asa Pawikan Protection and Conservation Center.
This month, we have signed cooperation agreements with government agencies, too. Not really sure what this changes but we hope this is the start of something good.
Sharing these news to you makes me feel so proud for all the volunteers, and more grateful to all of you, our blog friends, who supported us since the beginning, especially when nobody else did.
You can imagine how busy it was for us these past months but it was all worth it. The turtles deserve it, the volunteers of the hatchery deserve it, and the community deserves it.
There is more work to be done – we still have no income generating project to support the hatchery and buy eggs – but everything is looking up, don’t you think?
I would also like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to Juliette for adopting a nest of pawikan this season, as she did in the last. She was so proactive in reaching out – it was so beautiful and genuine. Thank you, Juliette!
There are still more nests to adopt, friends. Around 40, the last for this season. If you are in a position to support the turtles again, you can adopt your own nest and give one hatchling a chance to roam the seas for the next 100 years.
We will adopt a nest for you and send you the marker with the details of the nest including the number of eggs and date, time, and location of the birth. Please let us know what name to add to your marker! Some people write their names but others honor their grandparents, parents, family name, partners, children, businesses, or pets. It is a lot of fun, but it is also a sweet sign of devotion.
Together, we can save more turtles. Thank you for your infinite support and generosity. Let us show the world pawikan attitude and lift each other up!
Help us prepare a home for sea turtles!
Thank you for supporting the work of the Pag-asa Pawikan Protection and Conservation Center. We are rehabilitating the hatchery and preparing supplies for next season. With your help, we can save more turtles and empower the community.
$10.00
Markus + Micah 
How amazing the you got noticed by the government and are now an official NGO! I feel so proud to be part of this but you should especially feel extremely proud of all your efforts and involvement which allowed us to help you whenever possible! I feel so happy that there were even more turtles this year, and I hope the next one will bring even more baby turtles 😊 Now I can’t wait to come and visit one day as this must be such a beautiful thing to experience! Thanks a lot again! 😊
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Many thanks! This progress is yours as much as it is ours. The government recognition is great but this is not translating to any economic improvement now so we must keep working, and we will because people like you believe in us and the turtles! It would be such an honor to show you the hatchery one day, Juliette. We will wait for you!
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Great job! I’ve missed your posts, but I can see you’ve been busy with the turtles. I adopted 2 nests. Please use my blog name. Thank you, and best wishes on your continued good works.
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Thank you, Betty! It was quite busy but the turtles deserve it. Many thanks for adopting these nests and that is a very good name. Will forward your markers. Thank you for supporting the turtles!
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You are very welcome. Best wishes as you go forward.
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I love your enthusiasm and commitment to the turtles. So precious.
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The turtles deserve it, Kathy. The volunteers, the community – they are not hard to support and they will win your heart with their sincerity and tireless work. They do not see money, only the turtles. Thank you!
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Very well done to everyone concerned.
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Thank you, Peter. We are a big community – the volunteers, locals from our community, other Filipinos, and many of our blog friends – everyone lifts each other up for the benefit of the turtles!
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I love this so much. All those baby turtles are adorable. I just adopted a nest!
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Omg, thank you, Michelle, and welcome to our community! What name should we add to your nest? Let me know!
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Hmm. You can just call it Michelle Rocks!
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Got this. Will forward the nest with your marker and nest information. Cannot wait to see Michelle Rocks hatchlings!
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So proud of all that you’re doing! Congratulations on becoming an NGO! ❤️
I’m definitely going to try and adopt a nest.
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Many thanks! Our community is supportive, including all of you here. Yes, please. You can name your nest in honor of your growing business. It would be cool!
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That pic of turtles in nest 62 is insane!!!
Do people bring the eggs and you re-bury them or something else??
What’s all the info on the stakes?
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Yes, the turtle eggs are taken from the coast and brought to the hatchery. Out in the open, the nests are subject to poaching or sand erosion. Some people still eat the eggs believing it boosts the immune system. The markers contain information about the nest – when it was laid, time and location, number of eggs on the nest, and the name of the person who adopted the nest.
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I love that the community is finally getting the awareness. Great efforts!
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Maraming salamat. Hopefully, this translates into economic incentives for the community so the project becomes sustainable.
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You’ve done a marvelous job! Congratulations! Thank you for writing about this great adventure.
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Thank you, Anne. It is hard to believe that this is just progress of one year. Hopefully, this is only the start, and the next season will be bigger. How are you? We missed so much!
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I’m doing well, thank you. We seem to have more medical appointments than ever, but we’re still going strong.
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Good to hear! These medical appointments may be irksome but they are important. Stay happy and healthy!
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