English
Arabic
English
French
Hindi
Japanese
Spanish
Part 1: Streets Of ADA NFT4Good – combating climate change & corruption in Palawan, the Philippines
Razali Samsudin | Dec 6, 2022
Written by Razali Samsudin, Co-founder of A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA
Double Fists of ADA – by A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA
Sustainable ADA co-founder Razali, and Graphic Artist Affendi, as co-founders of A Samsudin Brothers Projek share more about their project ‘Streets of ADA’, an art and story-driven martial arts, beat-em ‘up gaming, anime, and 80s & 90s era inspired, Cardano NFT4Good.
“We are honoured to partner with Palawan NGO Network Initiative (PNNI), to support their efforts to combat the climate crisis, challenge corruption and protect activists in the Philippines.” – Affendi and Razali, Co-founders of A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA.
A logging site in El Nido, Palawan. Source.
Read on to learn more about how and why Samsudin brothers, Affendi ‘Tripl 7’ and Razali ‘Raz’, are developing Streets of ADA to urgently support positive activist actions and environmental law enforcement in Palawan, the ‘last ecological frontier’ of the Philippines.
What’s going on in the Philippines?
The Philippines is home to the island of Palawan, the largest island province of the Philippines. A UNESCO World Heritage site with one of the oldest, largest and most diverse rainforests in the world. The province of Palawan is known as the Philippine’s “last ecological frontier”.
Image credit: https://www.delikadofilm.com/
The Philippines is one of the deadliest countries in the world for defenders of the environment. It is also #2 in the world for crypto adoption. Can Cardano be leveraged to help protect the environment and its defenders? Source
In 2020, 29 recorded murders of environmental activists made the Philippines the third deadliest in the world, behind Mexico and Columbia.
“On average, our data shows that four defenders have been killed every week since the signing of the Paris Climate agreement – but this shocking figure is almost certainly an underestimate, with growing restrictions on journalism and other civic freedoms meaning cases are likely being unreported.” – Global Witness
Image credit: www.streetsofada.com
“With Streets of ADA, we are working to raise awareness and funds to support PNNI with their impact campaign in challenging corruption, protecting activists, and protecting the planet.”
– Razali
Image credit: https://www.pnni.org/about
PNNI are made up of 39 NGOs/People Organisations (POs), and are on the frontlines of this destruction, defending their homes in the Philippines.
Image credit: Eibner Saliba on Unsplash
In a survey conducted by Travel+Leisure, Palawan was recognized as the “best island in the world” by the New York-based travel magazine, topping its Top 25 Islands in the World list in 2020, 2017, 2016 and 2013.
So for many, it may come as a shock that Palawan island, home to the Philippines’ last great rainforests, with tropical waters that are among the most biodiverse in the world, with natural wonders that make it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, is also a country that is one of the most dangerous countries in the world due to illegal logging, fishing and mining, all of which are destroying Palawan.
Image credit: https://www.delikadofilm.com/takeaction
As the climate crisis intensifies, violence against defenders of the earth is escalating. – Global Witness
“A land defender is killed every two days around the world as they strive to protect their local environments from being destroyed by politicians and powerful business figures” – Karl Malakunas, Director of Delikado
Image credit: https://www.delikadofilm.com/
Map of the Philippines and forest loss from 2003 – 2015
Image credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ph_locator_map_palawan.png
Image credit: https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/map-philippine-forest-losses-gains-province
The Philippines has lost more than 154,00 hectares of forest between 2003-2015. This is equivalent to 453 entire New York Central Parks, the most visited urban park in the USA. Source
Image credits: https://www.delikadofilm.com/
Biodiversity under threat
Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification, 105 out of the 475 threatened species are in the Philippines.
Palawan Forest Turtle is a critically endangered species, with an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. Source
Onboarding and bridging PNNI’s 39 NGOs into the Cardano impact ecosystem via Streets of ADA
Affendi and Razali, founders of A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA are working with PNNI to support them on their journey to understand and build bridges to the Cardano Blockchain ecosystem, and navigate the world of blockchain, Cardano, cryptocurrency and NFTs to support their activities and impact.
Showcasing the Streets of ADA website as part of our #NFT4Good projek.
Meeting the PNNI team, para-enforcers, board of directors and trustees who manage to smile despite the adversity they face.
“We are exploring together with the 39 NGOs that make up PNNI in the Philippines how they can move forwards to accept donations in cryptocurrency ADA, in addition to FIAT (Philippines Peso, USD etc). We must makes sure that the appropriate steps are taken going forwards for all stakeholders involved in our project with PNNI, ensuring full legal compliance. All transactions will be made from and to a publicly viewable wallet for full transparency, showcasing Cardano’s innovative technology enabling greenwashing to be a thing of the past.” – Razali
Impact campaign fundraising efforts by PNNI
“All donations that we receive will go into food and fuel to allow our para-enforcers to do forest patrols and seaborne operations. It will also go to training the next generation of para-enforcers. We hope that you can help us and support us in this endeavour. This will give us a chance to save the last frontier and it will also give our children a chance to have old-growth forest still.”
“We have a unique para-enforcement programme in which we use the nation’s citizens arrest law to confiscate chainsaws, boats, jeepneys or any other equipment being used to illegally plunder Palawan’s natural wonders. Our team, and its network of community volunteers, will step in to save Palawan because no one else will.”
“We do not have much money, but we are rich in commitment, determination and bravery. Your funding will help us to continue and expand our work. Any size of donation is welcome, and we will use 100% of what we receive to continue our mission.”
– Bobby Chan, Executive Director of Palawan NGO Network Incorporated (PNNI)
Why is A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA important to us?
Above is version 1 of the Streets of ADA roadmap. The chance to purchase a unique NFT4Good from the first collection ‘Tiger Unit’ NFT Drop, with unprecedented real-life impact and evolving utility, is targeted to be made available for public purchase/minting in Q1 2023. Source
“Streets of Ada is a story that starts as fiction but transforms into actuality. It represents those that have a fighting spirit and the will to do something no matter how big of a challenge it may be or how immense the odds will be. Heroes are not born, but are made. They are forged out of circumstances and rise to the occasion when their spirit can no longer coexist with the hypocrisy and injustice to others.” – Affendi
“My kuya and I have roots in the Philippines on our Mum’s side, and Malaysia on our Dad’s side. We were both born and raised in East London. We had the good fortune of being brought ‘back home’ frequently while growing up. This helped us develop a strong connection and understanding of life there, and enriched us spiritually, emotionally, and culturally. We had a larger sense of home to tap into when we were made to feel like outsiders growing up in London. Now that we are older, we hear the call that we can’t ignore, to do what we can do to help those who are fighting to protect their homes and our planet from destruction.” – Razali
Image credit: Carmela Asistio on Unsplash
Promotional twitter banner for the Streets of ADA universe.
“It is a labour of love borne from lives spent growing up in the endz of London, the barangays of the Philippines, and the Kampungs and Kotas of Malaysia and Singapore. Streets of ADA is created by a team of two brothers, out of their love for timeless, gritty and compelling cinematic stories explosively brought to life through inspiration from the worlds of martial arts, beat-em up gaming, anime and manga. Having grown up through the 80s and 90s, Streets of ADA finds many of its influences from these eras, brought all together in a unique melting pot.” – Razali
A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA under construction and coming soon. Image credit: www.streetsofada.com
A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA is under construction and coming soon! The art and scene above is inspired from a cult classic martial arts, action movie from Indonesia. Can you guess what film it is? Let us know on our twitter page!
“We want to help bring awareness of the critical work being carried out by the courageous heroes and para-enforcer eco-warriors in Palawan, the Philippines. They are fighting and putting their lives on the line in one of the world’s most dangerous places to be an environmental activist, to protect their homes, their land and humanity’s heritage from being exploited by greedy and corrupt politicians, business people and officials.
The Palawan NGO Network (PNNI) need more support if they are to be able to continue defending environment and pristine ecosystem. Every effort counts. Our old growth forests, coral reefs and sustainable ways of life are under threat due to the short-sightedness and greed of profit-seeking big timber and so-called public servants.
If we are to avert the catastrophic effects of climate change, if we are to ensure that nobody has to risk their lives anymore to live in a safe and healthy environment, then we will surely need all hands on deck. My kuya Affendi and I have developed Streets of ADA as a means for us to pay it forward, and help out ‘back home’ by giving something back to our communities and fellow Filipino brothers and sisters.
We hope our children can grow up to see and feel awestruck by the natural beauty of Palawan before it is too late.” – Razali
Image credit: Cris Tagupa on Unsplash
Image credit: https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/delikado/
Image credit: https://www.pnni.org/
” ‘It has never been a deadlier time to defend one’s community, way of life or environment… the Philippines is the most dangerous country in Asia to be a land defender.’ These are chilling findings by Global Witness, one of the world’s leading human rights and environment campaigners.
The battles being led by Bobby, Tata and Nieves in DELIKADO are the same as those being fought by local communities in Brazil, Cambodia and elsewhere around the world where corporations and governments are seeking to plunder increasingly valuable natural resources.
They are being killed for trying to stop mining, agribusiness and logging. Many of the deaths occur in remote villages or rainforests. The victims are often from indigenous communities. The killers are rarely caught. All these factors are in play in Palawan.” – https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/paradise/
Image credit: https://www.delikadofilm.com/takeaction
“Influenced by fictional and real-life stories, armed with our creative energy driving the Streets of ADA project, we are striving to use Cardano’s technology to help solve real issues for a real positive social and environmental impact.
They say a picture can speak a 1000 words, but a video, a million pictures. So, for a better idea of what PNNI are doing and what they are up against, here is a trailer from the award-winning documentary Delikado, that blows the lid on what is going on in Palawan, why the world should be concerned and how they can help.” – Razali
“Palawan appears to be an idyllic tropical island but… To save the island paradise, three environmental crusaders confront murder, betrayal and their own demons. Through dynamic documentary storytelling, we follow Bobby, a charismatic lawyer who leads good men to their deaths, Tata an ex-illegal logger who seeks redemption, and Nieves a fearless grandmother politician who defies assassination threats. They are working with indigenous communities trying to save their increasingly valuable natural resources from being plundered.” – https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/rise-of-electric-cars-endangers-last-frontier-philippines/index.html
Delikado (which means dangerous in Tagalog) is currently picking up awards around the world and is being screened in film festivals globally. It can be viewed online here: streaming across the USA by PBS for free from Monday 26th September.
The importance of protecting indigenous communities and their ways of life.
Indigenous communities such as the Batak live in the forests of northern Palawan. They are believed to have originated from the first wave of human populations who crossed the land bridges connecting the Philippine islands with mainland Asia, up to 50,000 years ago. They depend on a varied mix of cultivation, hunting, gathering and fishing. Their traditional ways of life are under threat due to illegal logging, mining, and governmental policy making. Source
“Sustainably living in harmony within one’s ecosystem is a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation in many indigenous communities and tribes.
However with the rise of urbanisation, globalisation and destructive and extractive capitalism, ancestral lands and tribal areas in the Philippines are being grabbed and stripped from communities. They are being left unprotected due to political inaction and corruption.
Communities such as the Batak have been pressured and forced into a way of life where they can fall victim to debt traps and suffer from being cut off from their traditions, ill-equipped to live and thrive in a cash economy and world.
These communities who have sustained themselves for thousands of years, without over exploiting and plundering their lands and forests, are now under threat due to the rise of cash crop plantations and an export market that lines the pockets of the greedy, at the expense of the vulnerable, those in poverty and who have the right to be equitably sustained by their land.
PNNI are working tirelessly to combat the threats to the indigenous communities. The fight goes on.” – Razali
Image credit: https://www.pnni.org/ Bobby Chan, The Chainsaw man of Palawan
Headed by Attorney Bobby Chan known as ‘the chainsaw man of Palawan’, alongside his tireless team, PNNI’s heroic on-the-ground action and commitment to the cause of combating climate change, illegal logging, mining, and fishing in the Philippines, and uplifting their community out of poverty, is an ongoing, uphill struggle.
They have already lost 13 friends who have died under questionable circumstances whilst serving as para-enforcers for PNNI.
Image credit: https://www.delikadofilm.com/takeaction
A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA is working to support PNNI with the help and backing of a mission-driven, values and action-oriented Cardano community that rise to the call of #DefendtheDefenders and #TogetherStronger.
To find out more and support our work, visit and follow us here:
Read part 2 of the 3-part series of articles on A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA here:
Read part 3 and the final part of the 3-part series of articles on A Samsudin Brothers Projek – Streets of ADA here: