Story by ACCORD, Inc.

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting not just the health but also the livelihoods of people the world over. In Cotabato City, many from urban poor communities have been unable to work because of strict quarantine measures imposed across the Philippines midway through March 2020.

To help partner communities tap alternative sources of livelihood during the COVID-19 crisis, the Moving Urban Poor Communities Toward Resilience Project (MOVE UP) organized a mobile palengke (market) in five barangays of Cotabato City on June 13, 2020. This was also one way to make affordable, fresh, healthy food accessible to locals as they observe stay-at-home rules.

MOVE UP worked with the local government and two community savings groups (CSG), which are livelihood groups formed as part of the project’s strategies to enhance urban resilience by improving financial literacy and making livelihoods more resilient. Members of the participating CSGs – who, before the pandemic, made a living by selling food products, tailoring, or working as housekeepers – sold fish, chicken, fruits, vegetables, and spices at the mobile palengke.

Pre-activity consultations and planning

Throughout the whole process, the CSG members were actively involved in decision-making, and there was always proper coordination with the local government.

The first step was to conduct consultations with the relevant stakeholders. The team met with the barangay and city local government through the members of the project’s Technical Working Group on Resilient Livelihood, and members of the CSGs. The next phase involved figuring out which commodities to sell, making the necessary logistics arrangements, looking for cost-efficient suppliers, and computing for potential revenue, among other planning-related tasks.

To promote the activity, city and barangay local governments worked together to help spread the word.

Market day

The group went to all five barangays – Poblacion 3 and 9, and Rosary Heights 3, 4, and 5 – in one day. They had planned to spend two hours in each site, including the loading and unloading of items from the rented trucks. Staff members made announcements on-site in the local language using a megaphone. Physical distancing was observed, and the team used masks and disposable gloves.

Challenges and lessons

During the post-activity evaluations, several challenges were discussed. Planning and coordination was made more difficult by the quarantine because face-to-face meetings were discouraged, if not prohibited. Making sure the perishable goods stayed fresh – on the day itself and a few days after, in case there were leftovers – was also challenging. There were difficulties during procurement because stock availability was limited, another effect of the lockdown on supply chains. There was also a sharp price drop, particularly for fish, from the day of procurement to the day after the activity. Lastly, five barangays, with one to two market sites per barangay, may have been too many to cover in one day, as the loading and unloading process in each site was laborious and time-consuming.

Some CGS members also expressed hesitance to join future sessions. For one, sales projections made during this run of the mobile palengke may not be applicable to subsequent runs, as buyers begin to have more choices available due to the loosening up of movement restrictions. Some are also less inclined to do it again because they incurred some losses due to the price fluctuation.

But despite these concerns and the challenges they faced, the team has decided to try again and adjust based on the lessons they learned from the previous activity.

Focusing on people rather than just profit

The mobile palengke gave partner communities a chance to explore an alternative livelihood, and also brought food closer to communities whose access to markets has been difficult. It also allowed the MOVE UP team to see how else they could help improve the livelihoods of CSGs.

It was a good reminder that exploring alternative livelihoods entails taking risks – as all livelihood pursuits have associated risks – and learning from the challenges.

Most importantly, it was a reminder that making livelihoods more resilient is more than a quest for profitability. The systems that make livelihoods more likely to be profitable, sustainable, and humane must also be improved. This requires allowing communities to fully participate in the process (thereby improving their social positions) and working hand-in-hand with local governments (as a result, helping create a more enabling environment). The gains from these efforts may not be as tangible and immediate as turning a profit, but they pave the way for the longer-term, systemic changes needed to help empower urban poor communities.

To bolster urban resilience, then, we must place people, rather than just profit, at the center of livelihood efforts.

Through the EU Humanitarian Aid, the Move Up Project has been able to reach out to the most vulnerable families affected by the social and economic impacts of COVID-19.

Cebu City, which has been under stringent community quarantine measures due to its increasing COVID-19 cases, is home to more than 900,000 people as of 2015.

To date, the Community Savings Groups which are established through the project, have been continuously finding ways to diversify their livelihood options given the uncertain circumstances.

Hear more about their stories in this Champions’ Vlog .

The MOVE UP Project is an urban resilience effort funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid. It is implemented by Plan International Philippines, CARE Philippines, Action Against Hunger Philippines, and ACCORD Incorporated.

This instructional video details the steps in preparing, conducting, and evaluating a community drill. This will serve as an important resource for vulnerable communities and their local government units preparing for disasters.

This video is based on the actual Community Flood Evacuation Drill held in June 2014 that was conducted by the Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD) in partnership with the Barangay Portero Disaster Risk Reduction Committee and the Malabon City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office through the Partners for Resilience project.

In the third installment of the Move Up Project vlog series, let’s get to know more about the journey of the Community Savings Groups (CSGs) in Cebu City. In one of the project training sessions, some key members of the groups were able to identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats which are crucial to their enterprises.

Through the said exercise, the groups were able to plan ahead the mitigating measures and how to maximize solutions available given the existing threats to their businesses’ success.

CSGs are the entry point of the project’s Resilient Livelihood intervention. Using this social group, capacity building activities are made to diversify their livelihood options and help the existing ones become more resilient and sustainable.

The MOVE UP Project is funded by the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid and run by a consortium of Plan International Philippines, CARE Philippines, Action Against Hunger Philippines, and ACCORD Incorporated.

MOVE UP Philippines conducted a two-week seminar on Community-based Enterprise Development and Financial Literacy in Cebu City last January 20-24 and 24-27, 2020 which aimed to build the participants’ capacity for business management.

In attendance were 32 members of five different Community Savings Groups (CSGs) members from different sitios of Barangay Apas and Barangay Basak Pardo. All participants were small business owners and workers who are also members of barangay councils, sitio leaders, and active members of various women’s organizations.

This activity is very helpful to us because we were provided with useful ideas on how to manage a business, how to manage our finances, and how to prevent possible losses.

– Aiza Marie Gimpayan, CSG Member, Brgy. Apas, Cebu City

At the end of the sessions, the participants were asked to produce a comprehensive business plan for CSGs.

Check out the video to watch vlog number 2 of the MOVE UP Philippines Vlog Series.

Barangay La Flora in the municipality of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur is fully submerged in water three months out of every year. Farming activities are stalled until after the water subsides, and clean drinking water becomes scarce.

But a lot has changed in La Flora since then. They eventually found a clean water source, and with the aid of a cash-for-work program for indigenous people implemented by the DSWD, the laying of water hoses as part of the water system was completed in 10 days through the efforts of 68 people. Recognizing the link between water quality and the state of their environment, the project implementation also required the creation of a village-protected forest park.

“With the cooperation of various government agencies, NGOs, and the ‘Proud of My Purok’ Project, we were able to implement the whole project. The people became active [participants]. Whenever I call for a meeting or a village assembly, they diligently attend because they want to be informed. Before all this… not many would come,” says Romeo Otacan, La Flora barangay captain,

The projects of CARE and ACCORD in Talacogon covered La Flora, along with San Nicolas, Maharlika, Sabang Gibong, and Buena Gracia.

COVID-19 cases are continuously rising causing an immediate need to address hospitals’ surge capacity in the country. MOVE UP, PfR, and a Czech-funded urban resilience projects responded to this challenge by translating the Alternative Temporary Shelter  System (an urban resilience strategy addressing the lack of dignified space and shelters for internally displaced families affected by disasters) into CQFs. The CQFs are made to complement the government’s effort to address the increasing need for isolation facilities for cases of COVID-19.

To learn more about Community Quarantine Facilities, view and download the link to the factsheet by clicking on this link.

In 2006, a landslide in Barangay Guinsaugon in Saint Bernard, Southern Leyte killed more than a thousand people. The event underscored the municipality’s vulnerability to multiple hazards and the urgent need to improve preparedness. Thus, prompted Saint Bernard’s creation of an early warning system (EWS) for floods, tsunamis, and landslides.

Through the collaboration of the municipal LGU, government agencies, civil society organizations, and community members, a community-based EWD was instituted. The result was an end-to-end and landscape-wide system that made use of technology (such as gauges for rain and flood levels), a promoted collaboration between stakeholders, and encouraged community participation.

In 2013, Saint Bernard’s community-based local flood EWS was recognized by the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction for its innovative approach that combines technology and comprehensive social preparation. It was one of six projects from around the world shortlisted for the award.

Effective and sustainable disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation is almost impossible to achieve without safeguarding the health of ecosystems. And in some cases, the solution to protecting a community from natural hazards lies in nature itself. Mangrove reforestation, for instance, can serve as a small-scale mitigation measure to strengthen community resilience.

Barangay Sabang is one of 11 coastal villages in Calabanga, Camarines Sur prone to storm surges and flooding. But by transforming a vast expanse of abandoned fish ponds into a lush mangrove forest, the community built a shield against hazards. This was done through the collaboration of the local government, national government agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and a dedicated group of volunteers from the community, who planted more than 150,000 mangrove propagules along riverbanks and throughout the coastal areas of Calabanga.

After the rehabilitation of the mangrove forests, residents of Barangay Sabang observe that inland flooding brought by storms have become less intense compared to the ones they used to experience. The mangrove forests also help mitigate saltwater intrusion to nearby agricultural barangays; thus, preventing damage to crops.

A boom in the population of marine species was likewise noticeable, with mud crabs and a variety of fish now calling the roots of the mangroves home. The forests also serve as a sanctuary and breeding ground for freshwater species. These days, villagers say their waters teem with small fish and play host to the occasional butanding (whale shark).

The MOVE UP Philippines conducted a Community Risk Assessment in July 2019 which was designed to encourage the participation of vulnerable sectors such as women, children, and persons with disabilities, among others in partner areas B1rangay Apas and Barangay Basak Pardo in Cebu City.

The assessments were attended by barangay council members, barangay disaster risk reduction and management committee members, barangay emergency response teams, leaders from people’s organizations, health workers, and gender and development personnel among others.

Through the communities’ active participation in the assessment, appropriate and area-specific interventions are implemented by the project and barangay local governments.

Check out the video below to see the first vlog of the MOVE UP Philippines Vlog Series.