Event Geek

Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) President Roberto Aboitiz (second from right) led the groundbreaking of the new Kool Adventure Camp of RAFI in Barangay Consumoroy, Balamban, Cebu. With him are (L-R) Cebu Provincial Board Member Alex Binghay, Balamban Mayor Ace Binghay, and Ben Azel Ponio, president of BSP & Company Inc., the main contractor for the construction of the KAC site. (Inset) RAFI Chief Operating Officer Dominica B. Chua (with microphone) explained to partners, campers, and RAFI employees the different features of the camp through its scaled model.

After more than a decade of running camps with the youth and other sectors, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) saw the importance of taking adventure to greater heights through the creation of the Philippines’ pioneer outdoor education center.

RAFI officially broke ground on its Kool Adventure Camp (KAC) site at Barangay Cansumoroy, Balamban, Cebu last Mar. 26.

The 10-hectare campsite is seen as the first outdoor experiential center in the Philippines. It will house outdoor high and low challenge courses, indoor challenge courses, corporate conference halls, training halls, trekking trails, dining & kitchen facilities, tent areas, youth bunks and corporate cabins.

KAC will also feature the High Element Challenge Cluster, a challenge course that combines both low initiatives and high ropes courses in one. The campsite also includes an Iconic Structure, a multi-face, multi-element high challenge ropes course.

“This is where we will grow and multiply the program,” RAFI President Roberto E. Aboitiz said during the groundbreaking ceremony, referring to the ongoing KAC program of RAFI.

The construction of the campsite started on June 2010 under the supervision of the Aboitiz Construction Group Inc.-Metaphil Division. Construction is carried out by BSP Construction, Inc..

The design of the entire camp site was completed through the collaborative ideas of architect Estela G.D. Lopez of EGD Lopez and Partners for the site development design, architect Socorro Atega for the landscape design, and architect Ed Gallego of Gallego Architects for the architectural design.

KAC, launched in 1999, is an adventure-based education program that provides youth and adults with learning and development opportunities through experiential education. Its program offerings, which seek to build character, develop competence, and inspire active citizenship among its participants, include youth adventure camps, adventure training and consulting, corporate adventure workshops, land and sea leadership expeditions, urban backpacking, games and initiatives, and trainer’s training, among others.

“We have a 10-year-old program that deals with the hearts and minds of the youth in the Philippines. We have graduated close to 8,000 campers. What we promise is that those who will attend our program will never be the same again. You may come into the program with different backgrounds but when you graduate from our program, you will be enthusiastic, you will engage in various activities, and you will become leaders of tomorrow,” Aboitiz said.

KAC is one of the programs under RAFI’s Leadership & Citizenship focus area, one of the five focus areas of RAFI where future leaders are nurtured to prepare them to effect change. Its other focus areas are Integrated Development, Micro-finance & Entrepreneurship, Culture & Heritage, and Education.

KAC is an organization member of the Association for Challenge Course Technology-USA and Association for Experiential Education-USA. For more information about KAC, please call 418-7234 local 207 and look for Daphne Dia or visit www.rafi.org.ph.