Western Influence
Claus Nabert visited Sagada, Mountain Province in 1993 where he was quickly adopted by the elders and was given the Igorot name Agpad. In having been named after an ancestral leader he was then instructed to honour the spirit of Agpad. This very quickly led to him working with the indigenous peoples of the Cordillera and returning to the Philippines every two or three years for fifteen years to undertake many challenges. Some of his challenges have been being one of six founders of a non government organization (the Igorot Global organization), the development of a scholarship program for Igorot children in the Cordillera attending regional colleges, undertaking a medical mission in Kalinga province and addressing significant conflicts with the San Roque dam at the time it was being built. He was also fortunate to be able to participate in some very rare Sagadan pagan practices that are dying out very quickly. His stories and pictures are intended to honour spirits of the elders who had adopted him and to help preserve their memory and their culture as much as possible.