Strengthening BDRRMC capacities as a sustainable mechanism for IRM

by Brgy. Captain Edilberto Lacaba, Brgy. Badiangay, Sta. Fe

Barangay Badiangay is one of 20 barangays in the municipality of Sta Fe that is high-risk to flooding. It is four kilometres away from the town center, and situated in the interior part of the municipality. To reach Badiangay, one needs to ride a motorbike or “habal-habal,” the primary mode of transportation going in and out of the barangay.  There are three sitios in the barangay namely Sitios Kamalig, Batoon and Proper. A total of 175 households or 710 individuals make up the whole barangay in which majority are children. 

Both sides of the road leading to the barangay are bordered by rice fields, with a few houses dotting the sides of the road. Areas that used to be planted with coconuts have now been broken up to small patches of land planted with vegetables and root crops. Majority of the people work in rice fields as tenants or farm laborers. As farm laborers, they get paid P150-200 pesos for a whole day’s work.   During lean months they work as laborers, house helpers or sales ladies in the neighbouring town of Palo or Tacloban. There is no water system that brings water into the homes directly. Drinking water in the barangay is delivered once a week by a truck from the Leyte Metro Water District (LMWD). The residents pay P5.00 per container of water. For bathing and washing, they fetch water from an open well near their houses. This has been the situation in the barangay for the longest time and is considered as normal for everyone.

Such is the situation of the barangay which Edilberto Lacaba calls home.  

Edilberto Lacaba is the soft spoken and shy barangay chairman of Badiangay.  Once you engage him in a discussion, however, he speaks with seriousness and sincerity. He explains that Barangay Badiangay is a low lying barangay surrounded by the Bobonon River from neighbouring barangay San Isidro and Dapdap and Malaihaw rivers from barangay Gapas, all in the eastern part of the barangay. Water coming from these rivers traverses their barangay thus with only a few hours of strong rain, flood is an inevitable hazard they experience.  This constant flooding exacerbates the already difficult economic and physical conditions of the residents of Barangay Badiangay. 

According to some elderly in the barangay, in the 1960’s they already experienced flooding. Back then they just stayed within the barangay and wait for flood waters to recede. They would only evacuate to the barangay proper or in some private houses that have second floors when water is knee or waist high. Flooding, at that time, does not reach the barangay proper.  Only the two sitios (Batoon and Kamalig) were heavily flooded. Kap Edilberto says it’s different now. Flood waters reach up to 8 feet high, covering their roofs and also reaching the barangay proper.  When Typhoon Senyang hit Leyte in the last week of December of 2014, it brought the worst flooding ever experienced in the barangay. The whole barangay was inundated.  Left with no choice, they evacuated to the municipal gymnasium of Sta. Fe.  Most of their belongings were left behind because they could only bring what they can carry. The fathers were left to take care of their farm animals and other valuables left behind. They built bamboo rafts and stayed on guard of their properties until the flood water subsided.

This was also the time when Edilberto, then the first Kagawad of Badiangay, was forced to act as the head of their barangay because of the untimely death of their Barangay Captain.  He did not wish to be a First Kagawad in the first place. Being a Barangay Captain was farthest from his mind.  His reluctance was based on his idea that being a Chairman is an enormous responsibility and this would require a 24-7 commitment from him.  He was not sure then if he was up to that challenge.  But he did heed the challenge after the people of Badiangay showed their support for him.  

When ACCORD conducted the series of trainings on Disaster Risk Reduction as part of Promoting Recovery and Enhancing Resilience of the Most Vulnerable Communities that are Most Affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the barangay officials of Badiangay were not so enthusiastic to participate.   Their initial reaction was the usual reaction ACCORD gets from almost all barangays and municipalities encountered for the first time.  Flooding was a normal occurrence in their barangay and they have gotten used to it and besides, they have already attended numerous DRR trainings conducted by other organizations. But out of respect to ACCORD, the trainings pushed through.  

As the series of trainings unfold, they started to see the difference. They observed that the activities during workshops are hands-on and based on their actual experiences. Every activity involved the community’s participation, and they can proudly claim every output as their own. Above all, the successive DRR trainings by ACCORD made them realize that they can do something to minimize the ill effects of flooding in their barangay, that they have capacities to improve their situation. After the community-based DRM training for barangay officials in Sta. Fe, Kap Edilberto surprised us when he made the commitment to accept the challenge posed by ACCORD.  He will try to the best of his abilities to pursue the path towards resilience.  

Indeed, because of the firm commitment Kap Edilberto made, and the changes showed by his fellow barangay officials, the BDRRMC of Badiangay evolved into a learning and responsible organization.  Even Kap Edilberto said that BDRRMC officials and members were not active at first, but they showed they can change.  Even the community members were not as participative at first.  So much so that when ACCORD chose Badiangay to be one of two barangays to conduct a community flood drill, Kap Edilberto was worried if they could muster the support of the majority of the residents to participate in the drill.  But he was challenged because this is what their community needs.  

The community flood drill was nothing but successful.  BDRRMC members and the whole community actively participated in all of the community activities leading to the drill. He was amazed at the seemingly unending stream of volunteers to do all the technical jobs required and all the public awareness activities that had to be done to ensure that everyone in the community was adequately informed.  He also acknowledged that part of the strengthening process of the BDRRMC is the opportunity it provided to work with the MDRRMC.  And they are happy to note that the MDRRMC has started to recognize its role in supporting the actions of the BDRRMCs. 

When asked about his reflections of the project, Kap Edilberto said that what he appreciates most was the series of DRR capacity-building activities that aimed at strengthening their BDRRMC.   He still could not believe that they were able to formulate their Contingency Plan and was able to test it through the community drill.  Lessons learned were that if people are informed, they will participate.  If the BDRRMC members understand DRR, and their responsibilities, they will eventually be active.  Just like him, he said he also learned by doing.  And what one does must be propelled by a sincere resolve to increase the capacities of a very high risk and vulnerable community.

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by ACCORD, Inc.

Building Back Better and Safer : Mainstreaming IRM in livelihood programming

Benidicto M. Cabilte or Mano Ben, as everybody calls him, is a frail man at 63. He is apologetic and quite shy when we went to see him in his house in Barangay Bulod, part of Sta. Fe municipality in Leyte.  He lives in a small house together with his son, Junior. The father and son tandem cultivates a ¼ hectare of land owned by a relative residing in Palo. They plant rice and vegetables. Half of their rice harvest is given to the land owner as a form of rent, while the rest they keep for their consumption.  Mano Ben used to work as a security guard in Tacloban and Samar. His wife and their children were the ones tending the farm. But when his wife got sick of tuberculosis, he stopped working as a security guard and took care of her. It was also during this time that Mano Ben went back to farming. 

The couple survived Yolanda’s wrath, but unfortunately last year, Mano Ben’s wife died. The old man got so depressed that at times he turned to drinking to forget his pain. When he is sober Mano Ben continues to work in the farm together with his son Jun. The farm provides for their food and other needs and at the same time serves as therapy for Mano Ben. The daily toil keeps his mind off some problems. 

Mano Ben came to know ACCORD through the livelihood assistance project for their barangay where he is a beneficiary. For the first tranche, he received P3,000.00 which he used to buy feeds for a piglet he already owns.  For the second tranche, the livelihood group that Mano Ben was a member pooled part of the assistance they received and decided to buy a rice thresher and a carabao. They agreed this will enable them to expand their farms and increase productivity, thereby increasing their income.

Mano Ben consistently attended meetings and trainings facilitated by ACCORD. Most memorable to him is the sustainable agriculture training. He got interested upon hearing that the training involves actual demonstration on how to make organic fertilizer and insecticide.  It was very appropriate at that time since he was having trouble with some insects and pests in his farm and commercial fertilizer was too expensive that he can’t afford to buy them. 

Prior to attending the seminar on sustainable agriculture, Mano Ben used chemical sprayers and fertilizer in their rice field such as Superharvest and Restorer. He notes that it isn’t good for his health because of weakness and pains he endures after spraying.  He also observes that chemicals harm the environment, and the plant stems are more infirm and shorter. However, like other farmers, he was used to it and had little knowledge on how to shift to organic farming, although he had heard about it in seminars he attended before.  

Mano Ben shared that the trainings were very helpful because of the step-by-step process taught them.   He was so enthusiastic during the training, he took pains jotting important notes and made sure to bring with him a copy of the recipes for organic concoctions.  He wanted to share it with his son and try making some for their own use. Jun, on the one hand, was introduced to a 15-day course on gardening in high school. “Mabuti na lang nagturo sila tungkol sa gardening sa amin, napakahalaga ng kaalamang iyon.” said Jun. Aside from what he learned from high school, he also actively does research on useful techniques and supplements the organic farming knowledge his father learned during the Sustainable Agriculture seminar. For their first attempt, Mano Ben and Jun made fermented fruit juice and insect attractant. They applied the fermented fruit juice and insect attractant on their vegetable crops of squash, red chili, string beans, watermelon and eggplant. 

Since then, they have observed a significant change in the quality of both rice and vegetable crops with convincing testimonies on the effects of organic fertilizers on production. They said that the crops were bigger than before, with firmer stems and greener in color, with increased yield and faster growth rate compared with crops using chemical fertilizers. Organic fertilizers also do not cause acidity in the soil, thus, continuously producing good crops. Father and son also happily relate how effective the organic attractant they have concocted in deflecting pests off their crops. They also tried to mix the fermented fruit juice to feed the pigs and deworm them.  At present, they are tending 6 pigs, a dozen chickens, and a few ducks.

Mano Ben was so proud when his neighbors noticed the difference in his vegetable garden that they started to ask what he applied to achieve such healthy-looking vegetables. He also adds that one of the big landowners in their barangay sought their help on how to make the organic concoctions.  He boasts that he has convinced three farmers to go organic, too.

The passion of Mano Ben and Jun about practicing organic farming is very evident in the way they talk about their experiences.  They are very proud of their practice that is more environmentally friendly and are very keen on encouraging their community to do the same. Jun plans to share his knowledge more extensively with the youth after proving the effectiveness of organic farming which they tested and practiced in their vegetable garden.  Mano Ben continues to be busy throughout the day attending to the farm and their livestock.  For both of them, life is simply getting better.  Mano Ben at 63 is indeed still active and dynamic by going organic. 

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Ni Josephine Badilla

Kasalukuyang Presidente ng Plaridel Livelihood Entrepreneur’s Association (PLEA) isang organisasyon ng maliliit na magsasaka sa Barangay Plaridel, Dagami, Leyte

Nobyembre 25, 2015

Dalawang istruktura nalang ang nakatayo sa barangay, lahat ay nakadapa na at nasira. Ganito ang itsura ng barangay Plaridel, Dagami ng manalasa ang bagyong Yolanda. Nang humupa ang malakas na hangin at ulan, natunghayan namin ang nasirang mga bahay at kabuhayan. Ang bukid na dati ay puno ng pananim na niyog at bungang kahoy ngayon ay wala na. Halos mawalan kami ng pag-asa. Paano na kaya kami mabubuhay? May tutulong kaya sa amin?

Walang grupo ng livelihood sa barangay namin bago mag-Yolanda.  Kanya-kanya lang kami sa pamumuhay. Ang mga alagang hayop gaya ng baboy ay nakagala lang sa sentro ng barangay dahil wala namang pananim na masisira. Dati ay nagtatanim kami ng mais at ito ang pangunahing kinakain. Pero buhat ng dumami ang mga niyog ay unti-unting nawala ang pagtatanim ng mais. Kaya laking panlulumo namin ng halos lahat ng niyog ay natumba. Wala na kaming mapagkukunan para pambili ng bigas at iba pang pangangailangan. Sa kabila ng panghihina ng loob pagkatapos ng Yolanda nakita namin na kailangang magtulungan para mapabilis ang aming pagbangon. Kailangan naming magtanim muli, kung hindi kami magtatanim kami din naman ang magugutom. Hindi naman tinangay ng bagyo ang lupa. Nandiyan pa din ito, kailangan lang ang dobleng pagsisikap. Isa ako sa naghikayat sa aming mga kapitbahay na bungkalin ang lupa at magtanim muli upang may makain pagkatapos ng ilang buwan. Nabuhayan kami ng loob pagkatapos ng ilang linggo pagdating ng tulong sa aming barangay. Marami at iba-iba ang dumating na may dalang tulong. Pero naiiba ang ACCORD at CARE. Ihinahalintulad ko ang pagdating nila kagaya ng sa dalawang ibon na dumako sa aming barangay. Dala nila ang pag-asa upang kami ay makabangon muli. 

Ang pera na ibinigay sa livelihood ay ibinili ko ng baboy. Ngayon ay nakapanganak at nakapagbenta na ako ng mga biik. Nagtanim din kami ng mga kamote, kamoteng kahoy at gulay. Napawi ang aming pangamba sa araw-araw dahil may sigurado na kaming magpagkukunan ng pagkain. 

Sa Phase 2 ng livelihood ay nagbuo kami sa barangay ng 6 na grupo. Ang nakuha naming indibidwal na tulong ay pinagsama-sama. Kada grupo ay bumili ng kalabaw, arado, suyod, pala, bara at sprayer. Bawat isang pamilya ay bumili rin ng sariling sundang (bolo). Ang mga gamit na ito ay nagpapabilis ng gawa namin sa pagsasaka.  Ang mga kalabaw ay nag-aararo sa mga personal at komunal na mga sakahan namin. Habang ang iba pang kalabaw naman ay pinanghahakot ng mga kahoy na nakakadagdag sa kita namin.  Mula sa pinagsama-samang pera, naglaan din ng pera ang bawat grupo upang makabili ng binhi ng upland rice. May indibidwal at grupo na nagtanim nito. 

Bago sa amin ang upland rice. Tuwang-tuwa kami ng makapag harvest kami.  Nakapagtabi na din kami ng binhi para sa susunod na taniman. Sa kasalukuyan, mga root crops muna ang itinanim dahil sa  maulan ngayon. Nagbatay kami sa seasonal calendar na nagawa sa Disaster Preparedness Training ng ACCORD. Wala na ring gumagala na baboy ngayon sa barangay dahil lahat ay may tanim na. 

Ngunit hindi kami tumigil sa aming pangarap. Lahat ng oportunidad at mga hamon ay hinarap namin. Gusto namin na magtagal ang proyekto at pinag-isipan namin ng husto kung paano ito maisakatuparan. Dama namin na ang pangunahing pangangailangan namin ay pagkain. Kailangan namin ng bigas, ang pwedeng tumubo sa mabundok naming lugar ay mais.  Kaso walang gilingan. Kaya naisip namin na gawing proyekto ang pagtayo ng gilingan ng mais. Malawak ang aabutin na serbisyo ng corn mill. Hindi lamang ito para sa amin. Maging ang ibang barangay ay pwedeng makinabang dito. 

Dahil sa kagustuhang lalo pang gumanda ang aming pamumuhay, nagsunod-sunod ang mga meeting kasama ang mga myembro, nagpaliwanagan at nagkumbinsihan hanggang sa umabot sa pinal na desisyon na corn mill na ang magiging proyekto namin para sa pangatlong yugto ng livelihood project – ang Community Enterprise Facility (CEF). 

Walang may kaalaman sa amin sa pagtayo at pagpatakbo ng corn mill. Nakita namin ang pangangailangan na mag-aral at matuto upang magkaroon ng kaalaman. Pinuntahan naming ang mga proyekto ng ACCORD sa iba’t ibang bayan na may corn mill para pag-aralan. Kasabay ng pagbuo ng desisyon ay ang pormal din na pag rehistro ng aming grupo bilang asosasyon. Hindi naging madali ang pagbuo ng grupo. Iba-iba ang gusto ng mga tao. Malaking tulong ang pagkakaroon ng malawak na pang-unawa at maayos na pagpapaliwanag sa mga myembro.Sa pamamagitan nito nabuksan ang pananaw ng mga tao at nagkaroon ng pagkakaisa. Ang tingin pa namin ay may kakulangan din kami sa karunungan. Sa mga karanasan lamang kami natuto. 

Tunay ngang nakakapagod pero kapag ang iniisip ay hindi lang para sa sarili kundi ang kapakanan din ng iba, nawawala ang kapaguran ko. Kailangang makinig sa sinasabi ng bawat myembro, pag aralan ang kanilang mga mungkahi at ikumpara ang resulta. Sa organisasyon ay mahalagang matuto kang maki-isa. Kung ano ang pinaka maayos na karanasan ay ito ang dapat mangibabaw. Nagkasundo kami sa grupo na magbayad ng membership fee na P100 bawat myembro at monthly dues na P10. Ang perang nalikom ay ginamit sa pamasahe, photocopy at iba pang gastos ng asosasyon habang naglalakad ng mga papeles. Kung nagkakaproblema din ang myembro dito rin kami kumukuha ng ipapahiram. Layunin nito na may magagamit kaagad ang myembro sa panahon ng kagipitan.

(Ipinarehistro ang Plaridel Livelihood Entrepreneur’s Association (PLEA), ang kanilang asosayon sa DOLE noong Abril ng taong ito upang maging isang pormal na organisasyon na may napapanghawakang papel.) 

Mahirap ang pagparehistro sa DOLE. Malayo ang opisina, sa Tacloban pa. Pabalik-balik kami bitbit ang mga papeles. May nag-alok pa saamin na pwedeng maging fixer sa pag ayos ng papeles namin pero may bayad. Hindi kami pumayag, nagtiyaga kami na mag follow-up dahil gusto naman din naming matuto. 

Sa paglakad ng aming papeles, natuwa kami sa abogadong nag-notaryo para sa min sa DOLE.  Hindi niya pinabayaran ang pagnotaryo niya dahil naintindihan niya ang halaga ng ginagawa namin.  Pinayuhan pa niya kami na pagbutihin ang aming ginagawa. Naging hamon ito sa amin na kahit hindi namin kilala ay sumusuporta sa aming ginagawa.  

Ang aming pagkakaisa at pagbuo ng asosasyon o grupo mula sa dating kanya-kanya ay siyang naging gabay namin para makamit ang ganap na pagbangon. Masaya kaming pinapanday ang maliwanag na umaga para sa aming pamilya at komunidad. 

Darating ang panahon na ang mga anak naman namin ang magpapatakbo ng asosasyon at mas mapapalago pa nila ito dahil nagsimula na kaming turuan sila mula sa aming karanasan. Sila ngayon ay nakakapag-aral na ding muli dahil may kakayahan na rin kahit paano.  Gusto rin naming mangyari na sa panahon na may mangangailangan ng kanilang tulong ay makapagbigay din kami. ***

Dahil sa magandang simulain ng kanilang proyekto, at sa magandang pagtutulungang ipinamalas ng mga miyembro, ang samahan ng mga maliliit na magsasaka sa Bgy. Plaridel ay tiyak na magtagumpay at  maipagpatuloy hanggang sa sunod na henerasyon.  

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(Building back better and safer by mainstreaming DRR in shelter project)

Ni Cristita Villablanca

Bgy. Macaalang, Dagami

Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat. Ako si Cristita Villablanca isang residente ng Brgy. Macaalang, Dagami, Leyte at isa sa mga napiling miyembro ng roving team sa shelter project ng CARE at ACCORD. Noong hindi pa tumatama ang bagyong Yolanda, masasabi ko na maayos ang pamumuhay sa barangay namin sa kadahilanang marami pa ang nakukuhang produkto sa niyog tulad ng copra na siyang pangunahing kabuhayan ng karamihan ng mga residente.   Masasabi ko rin na sa mga panahon na iyon ay medyo nakaka-angat  ang mga tao dahil marami pa ang nakakapag-aral ng high school sa poblacion ng barangay. Napansin ko rin dati na sa paggawa ng bagong bahay ay walang sinusunod na mga pamamaraan sa pagtayo o pagkukumpuni.  Basta makagawa lang ng bahay ay tama na.

Sa pagtama ng Bagyong Yolanda ay naranasan namin ang pinaka matinding pagsubok na nangyari sa barangay namin. Halos naubos ang lahat ng pananim. Natumba halos lahat ng mga niyog. Nasira lahat ng mga bahay namin. Nagutom, naghirap at nagdusa kaming lahat. Nawala ang pangunahing pinagkukunan namin ng ikinabubuhay – ang mga niyog. Nagresulta ito sa paghinto ng mga anak namin sa pag aaral at lalong tumindi ang paghihirap namin.

Dumaan ang ilang buwan bago namin nakilala ang CARE at ACCORD.  Noong Pebrero 2014, nagdala sila ng pagkain sa aming barangay na nagpagaan ng konti sa aming kalagayan. Lumipas ulit ang ilang buwan, bumalik  ang CARE at ACCORD noong Agosto. Sa panahon na ito,  ay hindi na food kung hindi ay shelter repair kits naman ang dala nila  sa aming barangay. Dito na sa shelter project ako ay naging aktibong nakibahagi sa proyekto ng ACCORD bilang community mobilizer ng Shelter Roving Team. 

Ang shelter roving team o SRT ay binubuo ng dalawang panday na lalaki at isang community mobilizer na babae na taga-barangay din. Nabuo ang SRT bilang isang pamamaraan na masiguro na nagagawa ang mga itinatayo o kinukumpuning mga bahay ayon sa mga tinurong mga teknik sa BBBS.  

Nagkaroon kami ng mga pagsasanay para sa mga panday para ituro ang ibat ibang pamamaraan na mas mapatibay ang aming mga tirahan. Dito ko nalaman ang ibat ibang estilo sa pagpapatibay tulad ng 3 feet dapat ang minimum na lalim ng mga poste at dapat ay may ginawang ankla sa ilalim nito para hindi madaling  madala ng hangin ang bahay pag bumagyo. Ang maganda pa dito ay kahit hindi panday ay maaaring sumama sa training upang matuto.  

Marami akong natutunan sa pagiging community mobilizer ng roving team.  Bilang community mobilizer, responsibilidad ko ang pag-monitor sa mga ginagawang mga bahay.  Tinitignan ko kung nasusunod nga ba ang mga tinurong pamamaraan ng pagpatibay ng bahay.  Sinusundan ko ang pagsimula at pagtapos at ang mga may problemang paggawa.  Ang mga bagay na dati ay mga lalaki lang ang may alam sa barangay namin ay nagbago na.  Alam ko na din ngayon, at ng iba pang mga nanay.  Kailangan kong malaman ng mabuti upang alam ko din ang mga hindi tama ang pagkakagawa.  Umabot din sa punto na habang isinasagawa ang proyekto sa barangay, ang mga nagpapanday na mismo ang nagtatanong sa akin kung eksakto at tama ba ang ginagawa nila.   Minsan din hindi maiwasan na pinapaulit ko ang ginawa nila.  Kinakailangan ng masinsing pag papaliwanag at pagpapaintindi na dapat maayos ang pagkakagawa ng mga bahay dahil kami din mismo ang titira at makikinabang. 

Naging bago rin para sa akin at sa buong barangay ang naging paraan ng pagpapatupad ng shelter repair project ng ACCORD. Ang pagtatayo ng mga bahay ay isinasagawa sa pamamagitan ng bayanihan.  May mga grupo o cluster na binubuo ng 10 pamilyang magkakalapit/magkakatabi. Inuunang pagtutulngang itayo ang mga bahay ng mga bulnerableng pamilya –mga bahay ng senior citizen o mga bahay na nanay na lamang ang nagtataguyod sa kanilang pamilya, at mga bahay ng mga PWD. Naging mahirap sa umpisa pero nagawang tapusin ng mga tao ang proyekto gamit ang pamamaraan na yun. Masasabi ko na maraming naging magandang resulta ang nagawang shelter project sa aming barangay. Nagawang magbayanihan para sa barangay na nagpakita na may napakalaking kapasidad pala kami. Nakita namin na ang pagtutulungan pala ay makadulot ng mas mabilisang paggawa at mas mura nguni’t maayos na paraan sa pagtayo ng mga matitibay na bahay. 

Napakalaki ng pasasalamat namin sa CARE at ACCORD lalo na sa mga staff na pabalik-balik sa barangay kahit na mahirap ang daan. Ipinapangako ko, at namin sa barangay na hindi masasayang ang mga nadalang tulong sa amin at lalo na sa mga naiturong pamamaraan sa paggawa ng bahay na hindi na namin malilimutan.

Ika-26 ng Nobyembre 2015

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by Cherrylyn A. Libatique, Bgy. Caltayan, La Paz

Ako si  Cherrylyn A. Libatique, dalawampu’t anim na taong gulang, naninirahan sa Barangay Caltayan, La Paz, Leyte. May asawa at apat na anak, dalawang babae at dalawang lalaki. Simple lang kaming namumuhay, mahirap ang buhay namin. Ang bahay namin ay munting kubo lamang at ang kinikita ng asawa ko ay kulang pa sa aming pang araw-araw na pangangailangan. Mas lalo pa kaming lumubog sa hirap nang dumating ang unos na bagyong Yolanda. Nawasak ang aming munting kubo at nawalan ng trabaho ang asawa ko. Naranasan naming matulog sa tangkil-tangkil* na bahay at magutom. Akala ko hindi na kami makakaahon sa hirap dahil wala na kaming mapagkukuhanan ng pagkakakitaan dahil sa kawalan ng niyog na siyang pangunahing hanapbuhay namin.

Malaki ang pasasalamat ko nang dumating ang NGO na ACCORD. Una, nagbigay sila ng pagkain at pangalawa ay ang shelter repair kit. Hindi ko inaasahan na makuha ako bilang myembro ng shelter roving team. Sa General Assembly sinabi ng ACCORD Staff na kailangan ng tatlong volunteer para sa team, dalawang karpintero o panday at isang babae na community mobilizer. Lahat ng tao sa barangay ay nagturuan, walang may gustong mag-boluntaryo. Nakita ako ng aming kapitan at sinabihan ako na ako ang mag-volunteer. Agad ko ding tinanggap ang sabi ng kapitan dahil hindi matatapos ang general assembly kapag walang magboluntaryo at gusto ko rin naman ang tumulong sa aming barangay. Nang makumpleto na ang shelter roving team saka sinabi ng ACCORD staff na may allowance ang tatlong volunteer, na ikinagulat ng lahat at pinanghinayangan. Hindi ko rin naman inaasahan na may allowance pero malaki ang pasasalamat ko dahil ang nakuha kong allowance ay nagamit ko upang maipaayos ang aming bahay at nakabili ng kaunting gamit para sa aking pamilya.

Dahil dito, malaki ang pasasalamat ko sa ACCORD sa oportunidad na ito kung saan nagsimula akong maging aktibo sa aming barangay. Sa mabuting palad ay sumusunod rin at nakikinig ang aking mga ka-barangay sa akin. Lumabas na may kakayahan naman pala ako at masaya ako na nakita ito ng ACCORD.  At ang kakayahang yun marahil ang nakita nila upang kunin akong maging isang Community Facilitator (CF) sa susunod na phase ng proyekto nila.   Sa aking pagkaunawa, batay sa paliwanag ng ACCORD, ang isang CF ay pangunahing magbibigay ng suporta sa kanila sa pagsagawa ng mga aktibidad sa barangay.   Bilang isang CF, tutulong ako sa paglilinaw sa mga tanong ng ACCORD tungkol sa aming lugar at ako din ang magpapaliwanag o maglinaw sa mga kasamahan ko sa barangay kapag may hindi maintindihan sa mga sinasabi ng ACCORD.  

Napakalaki ng naitulong ng oportunidad na ito upang maipalabas at mapalakas ang aking mga kakayahan o skills. Hindi na ako mahiyain at marunong na akong gumawa din ng mga gawaing pang-opisina (paper works) tulad ng training preparation, liquidation, pag-organisa ng mga nakuhang datos sa komunidad at iba pa. Nahasa din ang aking pagsasalita sa harap ng maraming tao at hindi na ako natatakot at nahihiya, tulad sa pagbibigay ng training sa disaster risk reduction (DRR). Bilang CF, tungkulin ko ding mag-aral ng mabuti upang magampanan ko ang aking papel na maglilinaw o makatulong sa pagpaunawa sa aking ka-barangay.  

At isa sa pinakamatingkad kong natutunan ay ang tungkol  DRR.  Ngayon ay naiintindihan ko na kung ano ang hazard, bulnerabilidad, kapasidad, risk, climate change, resilience atbpa.  Nakita ko din paano maghanda para sa community drill at ang mismong kondukta ng drill.

Nagustuhan kong mag-volunteer dahil sa dagdag na karanasan at kaalaman. Ang mga natutunan ko ay madadala ko hanggang sa aking pagtanda. Patuloy akong magiging actibo sa aming komunidad dahil sa nakuha kong mga kaalaman at mga natutunan sa ACCORD. 

*Tangkil-tangkil – bahay na gawa sa kahit anong material na pinagtagpi-tagpi lamang

View and download a PDF version of this article here.

Story by CARE Philippines

Rose (24 years old) is a resident of Sapa, Barangay Panghulo, Malabon City. Her household is composed of eight individuals which include her five children, her mother, father, aunt who is a senior citizen. Her family’s main source of income is distributing and selling Sampaguita flower garlands.

Most members of her community lost their employment. Rose revealed that since most men in the community work at construction sites, all of them lost their jobs during the lockdown enforced by the government to control the pandemic. Women while primarily responsible for caring for the children, also sold Sampaguita garlands on the side to augment household incomes. Due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) or lockdown, they were unable to sell the garlands and had no sustainable source of income.

“Bawal kasi talaga lumabas. Halimbawa, nakita ka ng barangay sa labas, huhulihin ka kaagad lalo na pag wala kang mask” (Rose, female, 24 years old, Malabon City)

“We were not allowed to go out at all. If the barangay officials see you outside of your house, they would arrest you immediately especially if you do not have a face mask.”(Rose, female, 24 years old, Malabon City)

Rose also mentioned that the quarantine protocols in their barangay are extremely strict. For each household, throughout the ECQ, only one person is allowed to go out and do errands. They did not have curfew hours since residents were not allowed to go out if they do not have a quarantine pass. If apprehended, curfew violators are taken to the barangay office. Rose also mentioned that those who guard and enforce quarantine protocols in their community are all men.

When asked whether they had access to face masks during the ECQ, Rose shared that they could not afford a box of face masks. It was too expensive, so they used cloths and handkerchiefs as an alternative for protective gear. She also mentioned that practicing social distancing was difficult and almost impossible for them since their house is small and all of them were forced to stay inside.

Rose shared that they received food aid four times during the lockdown. However, this was insufficient to meet the foods needs of the whole household. Most of the time they were eating only twice or once a day in order to make food supply last longer. As for the cash aid, she mentioned that there were a lot of households in the community that did not receive cash assistance even though they lost their jobs and applied for the government’s Social Amelioration Program (SAP).

“Kulang po talaga ang binibigay ng barangay. Minsan sabi ko sa anak ko pag humihingi ng pagkain, inom na lang siya tubig para ma-survive ang gutom.” (Mary (Rose’s mother), female, 49 years-old, Malabon City)

“The food aid given by the barangay is insufficient. Sometimes when my children ask for food, I just tell them to drink lots of water so that they can endure their hunger and survive.” (Mary (rose’s mother) female, 49 years-old, Malabon City)

Since the implementation of General Community Quarantine (GCQ), Rose and her family were able to go back to selling and distributing Sampaguita garlands. However, it would take them 8 to 9 hours of walking every day since there is no public transportation. They also mentioned that as of now there is little profit from selling since the pandemic has caused the closure of many business establishments.

You may also read this story on the CARE Philippines website by clicking here.

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.

Story by Dennis Amata, CARE Philippines

“Have you ever felt so upset when all your hard work vanished in a snap?”

This was how Daisy Albao started when asked about the changes in her life after starting their own seaweed production enterprise. Whenever I interview people who took part in our livelihoods recovery project, they would excitedly share about their income, their savings and even things they were able to buy. But Daisy started with a different response.

Daisy, a 40-year-old mother of five is one of the most enthusiastic community leaders I know. She is the president of Agdaliran Women’s Rural Improvement Club Association (AWRIA), a women-led community organization in a coastal village in the town of San Dionisio, Iloilo province, Philippines.

AWRIA received cash grant from CARE, an international humanitarian organization, to start a seaweed production enterprise after typhoon Yolanda’s catastrophic devastation.

During my first interviews with her, Daisy elatedly shared her association’s dramatic journey to recovery. Many of the women members were not used to working as they were housewives. But the livelihoods program provided income opportunities for them when they started harvesting fresh seaweeds and selling the dried ones.

AWRIA has also received trainings from CARE and its partner Taytay sa Kauswagan Inc. on enterprise management, financial literacy, productivity, and marketing. AWRIA’s seaweed production was also badly affected by this year’s El Nino but they continued working to recover.

Daisy has become one of CARE’s Community-based Development Facilitators (CBDF) after displaying great interest in sharing knowledge to and serving other vulnerable people affected by typhoon Yolanda in 2013. She became instrumental as she conducted the same training she received from CARE in other remote villages. Her expertise in the local dialect, as well as familiarity with the town’s culture, really helped in effectively conveying important messages to CARE’s project participants.

But what exactly happened?

“One peaceful night before going to bed, my family and I heard strong waves from the sea. We knew that it was strange. The waves were louder compared to what we usually hear every evening. But then we still ignored it and went to sleep,” she said.

Daisy visited their seaweed plantation early in the morning but to her surprise, everything was destroyed. Their seaweeds and stilts supporting monolines were washed away. The women members gathered in dismay, all staring blankly at the endless stretch of water in front of them.

According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the coastal villages of San Dionisio experienced a wave surge (locally known in Iloilo as ‘pugada’) that night. A wave surge is a weather disturbance associated with the above normal rise of water level in open coast due to wind stress action on the water surface.

“There was no storm, it wasn’t even raining so we were shocked to see that almost 95% of our seaweeds were gone. Our production intensely decreased,” shared by Daisy. “Our members were obviously frustrated and asking me what would be our next step.”

Daisy realized that they shouldn’t remain hopeless and still could do something about it. “I told my members that we would replant. We were able to save some seaweeds and we could start from the remaining 5%. But I know it wouldn’t be an easy ride,” said Daisy.

Daisy had a difficult time convincing the members to join her in replanting. And most of them just shook their heads to say no. But the association’s treasurer tapped Daisy’s back and told her she would help to convince others.

“I am really thankful to Jessica, our treasurer. She helped to talk to our members. Since we were able to generate savings from our income, we eventually had a group meeting and had an agreement to push things forward.”

CARE connected AWRIA to BFAR for technical assistance. The association even received additional planting materials from BFAR. The Municipal Agriculturist also came to the rescue to help the affected coastal villages.

“CARE also helped us to avail our crop insurance from the government. At least now we are less worried whenever we experience these weather disturbances,” shared Daisy.

The women of AWRIA are aware of the changing climate. They said they experience stronger waves during rainy season, and long dry spell also affects their seaweeds when seawater becomes warmer.

“We learned from the previous El Nino when our seaweeds were affected by the ‘ice-ice’ disease and now we also learned from this recent experience. We are very thankful for all the knowledge and techniques we’ve got from technical experts,” said Daisy.

Daisy and her members have learned from BFAR and CARE various agricultural techniques and practices to adapt to the changing climate and mitigate the impact of disasters. They continued replanting and working  all together to recover.

“It was a good decision to never give up. For us, resilience doesn’t always mean succeeding in every action. It means being able to stand when situations cripple you for a moment,” said Daisy.

Story by Jan Dacumos

From the town proper, past a maze of narrow dirt roads crisscrossing banana plantations, a humble shed welcomes community members and visitors to the southeastern side Magcagong, a farming community in the landlocked town of Maragusan in Compostela Valley Province.

It may seem an ordinary farm structure but the simple shed has played a significant role in the lives of farmers in the village of 3,200. It has become a symbol of the residents’ solidarity as they work together towards their collective goal of community progress—this while addressing timely issues such as disaster risk and climate change.

The shed houses a combined corn and coffee mill. It also serves as an activity center for the Magcagong Farmers’ Corn Mill Association (MFCMA), an organization established through the ACCORD-assisted ‘Proud of my Purok’ (POMP) Project.

Pedrito Lascuña, chairperson of the MFCMA said that the idea of putting up a corn mill originated from the farmers themselves. This was after ACCORD conducted a series of consultations for the POMP Project, which sought to complement disaster preparedness training with disaster-resilient and climate-smart livelihood sources for the community.

Situated on a rolling terrain, Magcagong is considered a landslide-prone area. Government geologists who have assessed the place reported that the crumbly soil type renders the vulnerability of the community to the geological hazard. This problem is compounded by drastic changes in weather events such as strong typhoons and extreme monsoon rains, which the residents are not used to.

Pedrito shared that after the brunt of Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) in 2012, they have also experienced unprecedented incidents of heavy monsoon rains (Habagat), which he considers as equally damaging as typhoons.

“With Habagat, the rains may be light but are long and persistent,” Pedrito said. This causes saturated land masses to move. Likewise, rivers and creeks swell, flooding nearby farms and households.

Community mill benefits

Farmer Alejandro Sescon said that originally, their choice for the POMP Project was to purchase a vehicle but someone raised about the high maintenance costs, so they settled with establishing a corn mill.

For a community that consumes corn grits as a food staple in place of rice, the mill has provided great convenience to them. The village’s sloping and unirrigated lands are not suitable for rice cultivation.

The farmers in Magcagong used to bring their corn harvest to the town proper for milling. They had to pay for a forty-peso fare for the person carrying the products and another P2 for every kilogram of corn.

“With the road damaged especially during heavy rains, transporting our products was more expensive. Some grains even spill as we transport these from the town,” Alejandro said.

The farmer shared that with the new corn mill in their barangay, it is now more convenient for them to have their corn processed into “corn rice” particularly when they experience inclement weather.

“There were times when we couldn’t drive our habal-habal (motorcycles) to town. Our products would get damaged, too,” Alejandro said, adding that there were instances when their corn would spill onto the river, rendering these useless after being soaked in water.

Other farmers shared that they no longer experience these problems. Some of them would even just carry their sacks of corn to the mill. The households use savings from hauling cost in other expenses such as groceries and school needs.

“We pay the same price here for milling but we no longer have to endure the long lines. Sometimes, it would take two to three days—we need to go back and forth. Now, our harvest can be milled on the same day,” Alejandro said.

Before, the town only had two corn mills, both of which are far from the village. The mill now serves six to seven barangays, and it now processes an average of 8,000 kilograms of corn per month. The mill also caters to coffee farmers.

“I’m not bragging but the quality of milled grains is better than that from the commercial mills,” Pedrito said.

The group formed for the corn mill operations has eventually evolved into a formal organization—the MFCMA—and is working for its accreditation with the Department of Labor and Employment. With 57 active members, the MFCMA has spent its first year in establishing its structure and systems.

“Our target is within the year. We already have our operations policy, and constitution and by-laws. These were based on the ACCORD [template] but we added new policies from the inputs of our members,” Pedrito said.

Fostering stakeholder collaboration

Barangay Kagawad Leonisa Mabagod said that through the POMP Project, the cooperation between the barangay council and the farmers’ association has greatly improved.

Leonisa added that the MFCMA chairperson sits in the barangay development council as a representative of civil society organizations.

“Their chairperson provides reports—their performance, their problems—to the barangay council. We also attend their meetings to know their needs,” the councilor said.

Leonisa shared that all the activities were identified by the community including MFCMA members, hence they have a sense of ownership of these.

Through the Project, the barangay was likewise equipped to craft a good DRRM and contingency plans with MFCMA members participating.

“Before ACCORD came here, we had no decent DRRM Plan. But with their intervention, we were able to identify the gaps. We reviewed the plan with the community members,” Leonisa said.

The councilor is equally thankful for the equipment and trainings they had acquired through the POMP Project, which they now use to effectively execute their plans. Furthermore, with the mill now earning income, the MFCMA allots 1% of its revenues for the barangay’s emergency needs, including supplies during and after disasters.

“Had we solely relied on the barangay [budget], the plans would not have materialized,” Leonisa added.

Through the Project, the barangay council also passed an ordinance prohibiting the construction of houses within ten meters from the riverbank. Similarly, they issued an order on the cutting of trees near houses to avoid accidents, especially during typhoons.

The MFCMA meanwhile matched these local policies with tree-planting activities along the riverbank, the seedlings of which were sourced from native trees around the village. This ensures that the trees are well adapted to the area’s soil and climate types.

Additionally, being trained in sustainable agriculture, the association members now practice contour farming to manage soil erosion. And with the nearby mill, more farmers were encouraged to plant corn, hence diversifying the kinds of crops being planted—a more sustainable farming practice compared to mono-cropping, mainly of bananas.

With 12 puroks and sparsely distributed households, giving warning in times of disasters is still challenging, according to Leonisa. But it helped a lot that the residents were already adequately educated through the POMP Project. In fact, every family has its own go-bag, a must-have in times of disasters.

Moreover, the barangay may not have been able to conduct a disaster drill during the POMP Project implementation but with their training on disaster preparedness under the Project, they were able to run a drill—with outstanding ratings—under the provincial government’s DRRM program.

“The residents know what to do. They now have the initiative. Actually, they start to evacuate before we even tell them,” Kagawad Anania Manugas said. The councilor had served as a community facilitator for the Project before being elected into public office.

Engaging, empowering women

Complementing the leadership roles assumed by Leonisa and Anania at the barangay council is the active involvement of women in the MFCMA as well as in community-wide concerns.

Vilma Mabagod, from the Mansaka indigenous people group, shared that most of MCFMA’s members are women and it is through the association that the camaraderie among the community women has improved.

“There was aloofness among us at first, but eventually, we became close with each other,” the mother of five said.

In maintaining organizational life, women members are not limited to traditional roles. When other groups restrict some tasks to men or to the leadership, the MFCMA provides the space for all members to take part in substantive assignments, tapping and developing their potentials to the benefit of the group.

In pairs with fellow women or men members, the ladies take turns in tending to the daily operations of the mill. They call this duty, a task all members commit to as a support to the growth of the association.

While on duty, women do various tasks from cleaning the shed’s premises and cooking meals during meetings to record-keeping and collection of milling fees. With their training on financial management, the MFCMA was able to design a simple record-keeping system to track their cash flow and maintain transparency and accountability in their finances.

The participation of women also manifests well in the association’s leadership composition where four of the six officers are women. This means that decisions made in the organization reflect the views and perspectives of women.

Way forward

As a start-up enterprise, Pedrito recalled that the first year of operations was quite challenging but they have managed to pull through.

With sustained activities such as meetings, the farmers have developed closer relationships, which Pedrito considers as an indispensable element in their growth as an organization.

The association now plans to engage in buy-and-sell of agricultural produce, consolidating harvests and selling these in bulk to buyers.

Setting aside P10,000 as buying capital from their initial revenues, they have already started with selling some of the milled corn grits to a retailer at the town’s public market. They then wish to have a vehicle so they can expand their buy-and-sell enterprise.

“Once we have registered, we plan to get an accredited at the trading complex in Davao,” Pedrito said, explaining that one of their problems as farmers are middlemen. By being accredited by the trading complex, the farmer members can directly sell their products through the association.

If there would be a second phase of the Project, the barangay council, on the other hand, wants to review and update Magcagong’s contingency plan, implement additional mitigation measures and conduct community drills.

The evident enthusiasm of the barangay council to continuously improve their DRRM mechanisms indeed proves that they have already developed a deeper sense of ownership of the issue. This is complemented by the eagerness of the MCFMA to grow not only as a mere farmers’ association but a venue of empowerment and a potent partner of the barangay in facilitating stakeholder convergence in building a prosperous and disaster-resilient community.