Creating alternative community settings: The case of a community-based heritage project in the Philippines

This paper illustrates the creation of alternative social and physical settings in one small community in the Philippines in view of the identified collective need to understand its people’s history and nurture its heritage. Using the framework for social setting action by Seidman and Tseng (2011), it analyzes the development and struggles of a local historical and heritage organization and its community-based museum project through citizen participation amidst the various social and political challenges they face. An array of human, material and financial resources were solicited and organized, and several informal and formal processes were harnessed to make possible the realization of the goal to build an interactive museum that will serve as a place for community members to showcase their talents and make their voices heard.