TIWI, Albay--Despite the setbacks caused by the consecutive typhoons last year, the coconut farmers of Bariis (village) and other upland villages here are finally off to an entrepreneurial venture of their own.
Last year, the Tiwi Coconut Farmers Association (TCFA) was set to open a communal coco coir processing plant as part of the livelihood program initiated by the multisector organization Tiwi Cooperation for Research and Development.
Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holdings Inc., which runs an energy plant in the municipality, earmarked a P250,000 grant as initial capital for the coco center.
The farmers of the remote hilly area were poised to stand firmly on their own feet. But nature seemed to have other plans. The super typhoons that lashed the region last year denuded their coconut farms, robbing them of their raw material and their budding plans for a stable livelihood.
Despite the loss, however, the TCFA knew it had to go on. "The funds were ready. We couldn't let them go to waste," TCFA president Vedasto Cerio said.
Cerio added that they even already had the venue for operation, referring to the Bariis Multi-Purpose Center donated by the Department of Agrarian Reform.
With the assistance of the Aquinas Foundation Inc., a nongovernment organization founded by the same Dominican university in Legazpi City, the livelihood program was reoriented from coco coir processing to virgin coconut oil (VCO) production.
The AQFI not only provided the means to acquire the coconuts needed but also drew up the preliminary marketing plan and budget allocation for the community's new business.
The Chevron grant was used largely to acquire a mechanical shredder, coconut milk extractor and purifier.
The remaining funds were used to buy containers and construct a fermentation room.
These new acquisitions were subjected to a test-run at the start of the month at the Bariis Multi-purpose Center, much to the excitement of the residents who milled around the facility to watch.
High value
Compared to other coconut products, VCO ensures high compensation even with meager resources, which is essential, since coconuts are still in low supply in the Bicol Region after the typhoons last year.
"Raw material processing and handicraft-making are the staple ventures in rural areas, but right now, it is important that our farmers aim for higher value products," said Luisa Marcelo, AQFI project manager.
VCO is commonly sold in the market as a natural health supplement and as cosmetics, such as soaps, massage ointments and aromatherapy oils.
According to engineer Emmanuel Raquid, technical staff member of the Aquinas Center for Community Extension Services, the Bariis facility is expected to produce 80 liters of VCO per day, to be priced at P150 per liter.
Primary buyer
The AQFI plans to be the facility's primary buyer and marketer.
Currently, they sell the VCO produced by a fledgling cooperative in Sangay, Camarines Sur.
The AQFI has started a line of massage and aromatherapy oils from the produce, marketing them for P100 to P150 per 100 ml bottle at the Our Lady of Manaoag Church in Pangasinan City, as well as the Aquinas Pharmacy branches in Legazpi City and Naga City.
Raquid said the AQFI looks to churches, particularly those that are Dominican-run, as the primary outlets for the VCO products.
'Recycled' resources
However, Raquid lamented that the market is currently limited to the local arena.
"To provide for an international market, we need 3,000 to 5,000 metric tons of VCO," he said.
This is a tall order, considering 800 coconuts a day are already needed to meet the 80-liter-per-day target at the Bariis facility.
"The Manaoag friars have been asking us for more VCO products, because they say there is an increasing demand for them. But we can't do anything but to ask them to wait," Raquid cited.
He foresaw that shortages would worsen in the near future.
Recycling coconuts
The AQFI compensates by "recycling" the coconuts they acquire, mostly from the Philippine Coconut Authority.
"We aid in other coconut-based social enterprises in other areas, one of which is a coco coir production facility in the Sorsogon province. The farmers there only strip off the husks but leave the coconut intact. When they are done, we pass the nuts to the Bariis facility for VCO production," said Raquid.
To further utilize the versatile coconut, he said they were encouraging farmers to make use of the discarded husks and meat for additional skills and income.
"The husks can be made into fertilizer, or turned into accessories. The meat could be dried, pulverized, then turned into coco flour," he said.
Social enterprise
The Bariis VCO facility is planned to be formally launched this month and will be directly benefited from, and operated by, the TCFA under the guidance of their multisector donors.
According to Cerio, the association currently has 32 members, all of whom are small farmers coming from different villages across the municipality--Lourdes, Sogod, Joroan, Misibis, Mayong and Dapdap.
However, he admitted that the association was still unregistered and that they were yet to organize into a cooperative, rendering them, for the meantime, ineligible for ownership, at least on paper.
"The facilities came before the association," he said, laughing.
He added he was thankful for the aid extended to them by the provincial and municipal governments, the DAR, the PCA, as well as AQFI and Chevron.
Raquid said even if the only ones to actually earn from the VCO facility were members of the association, the enterprise can create a ripple effect on the immediate community.
"The other residents in the community could buy the oil, then create and sell VCO products of their own," he pointed out, adding that in time, it could flourish into their own little businesses.
The AQFI has been planning to open another VCO processing facility in Daraga town.
"The bottom line of this venture is capability-building. What is important is that it empowers the grassroots and those that are in need," Raquid said.
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