YOUR CHEEKY AND CURIOUS ISLAND HOSTS. They’re cheeky and curious, wild but caring, playful, and the best people to take you to explore their backyard. Many of them are sons of ex-pirates and fishermen. That means they can navigate the archipelago without a map, climb coconut trees, catch fish from the boat, and constantly crack […]
THE MOTHERS WHO MAKE OUR ISLAND BASECAMPS HOME. The Women are your hosts on our basecamps. They’re strong and skilled, shy sometimes, but never fail to make a remote island feel like home. Over the years we’ve trained these women who would otherwise be unemployed for roles ranging from part-time masseuses to top company management. […]
FARM-TO-TABLE AND SEA-TO-SEAT ON MOVING BOATS AND REMOTE ISLANDS. A rich fishing culture and years of working the land have allowed us to create a unique take on island cuisine. Our food is a showcase of Palawan’s sea and soil, Filipino food techniques and practices, and our own travels around South East Asia. Dishes are […]
YOUR EXPEDITIONS SHARE THE BENEFITS OF TOURISM THROUGH COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND TRAINING. When done right, tourism brings many benefits and opportunities to destination locals. We don’t think these should be limited to the people in our crew. The Tao Kalahi Foundation recognizes those outside our community as rightful beneficiaries to the profits of tourism. We […]
WE USE THE STRONG AND VERSATILE GRASS TO BUILD ALL OUR BASECAMP STRUCTURES, FROM OUR SIGNATURE SLEEPING HUTS TO OUR PLAYFUL LOUNGES. In the Philippines bamboo is seen as a poor man’s timber and not considered a serious construction material—but not in Tao. We use the strong and versatile grass to build all our basecamp […]
PERMACULTURE IS A PHILOSOPHY OF WORKING WITH RATHER THAN AGAINST NATURE. In June 2011 Tao broke ground on the Organic Farm Project in order to research ways in which islanders could sustainably produce our own food. The Farm is now part of the Tao Kalahi Foundation, using local traditional knowledge combined with new research and […]
WHO WE ARE AND HOW IT ALL STARTED It started with a spontaneous camping trip on an old fishing boat. Years of hopping around remote islands and living with different communities led Filipino explorer, Eddie Brock, to travel deep into the remote islands of Northern Palawan. Tao was founded in 2006, as a island homestay […]
REVIVING THE (ALMOST) LOST ART OF FILIPINO SAILING WITH A TRADITIONAL PARAW. The advent of motorised boats marked the end of the Philippines’s sailing heritage. Where entire villages and bands of pirates used to sail the seas with beautiful watercrafts, today only one traditional Philippine sailboat remains—ours. To build the Balatik we relied heavily on […]