Rural women assn. in Dalaguete, Cebu now successful entrepreneurs after availing of gov’t’s SEA-K program
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY, July 3 -- Years of hard work has turned this group of simple rural women in southern Dalaguete town in Cebu into budding entrepreneurs after availing of the government’s micro-financing credit program dubbed ‘Self Employment Assistance- Kaunlaran’ or SEA-K.
The Balud Women’s Association (BWA) popularly recognized as Dalaguete’s grassroots entrepreneurs, model moms and housewives has become a symbol of success for women empowerment.
In 2003, a group of 25 women from Barangay Balud with the help of the Dalaguete Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) was introduced to the SEA-K program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7. The SEA-K is a pro-poor, zero interest rate credit program that aims to help marginalized sectors to put up their own small business to earn income.
DSWD initially released P5,000 seed capital for a livelihood project to each of the BWA’s 25 women beneficiary which amounted to P125,000. This credit assistance was payable, on a weekly basis, in two years with no required collateral or interest. This is to eliminate pressures to beneficiaries in raising money for loan payment.
The total amount of P125, 000 was invested by the BWA on various projects related to buy and sell, food vending, farming, sari-sari stores and hog raising.
Nenita Brandares, BWA president declared that aside from the monetary capital extended by the DSWD-7, all members underwent capability building and livelihood trainings and seminars. “This is done to better prepare the association for the different small scale livelihood projects that include simple accounting, bookkeeping, value and planning formation, product packaging and marketing,” said Brandares.
Since the town of Dalaguete is known as “Vegetable Basket of Cebu” and with the inputs given by the government and partners NGO, the group started conceptualizing their vegetable pickle business.
The association, with their vegetable pickles business, started producing locally produced vegetables like carrots, bell pepper, papaya and others agricultural products of Dalaguete.
In their vegetable pickles business, a member pays only P85 every week to their association. Of this amount, P50 would go for repayment of their loan and P25 is deposited to their local bank account in a form of forced savings. The remaining P10 is divided and set aside for an emergency fund and the association’s operation fund.
In two years, the BWA was able to fully pay their loans with P65,000 left as their counterpart savings which they also used in starting their lending business.
Because of the success of their entrepreneurship initiatives, the DSWD-7 doubled their second round of livelihood loans providing the association higher step from SEA-Kaunlaran to SEA- Kabayan.
With an increasing demand for their vegetable pickle products, the BWA went into bigger production due to bigger investment, a stepping stone to showcase their products in big malls in Cebu City.
Other partner government, non-government agencies, academe and media which include Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), University of San Carlos (USC) and the local ABS-CBN 3 also assisted the group in the packaging, promotion of their pickles and augmented their production funds as well.
With the association’s principles of hard work, cooperation, partnership and volunteerism, it had earned them several awards such as the DTI’s One Town, One Product (OTOP) contest, ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Negosyo Na, Cebu Provincial Government’s Obra Negosyo and DSWD’s Best SEA-K Association in 2009. (FCR/AYS-PIA7 CEBU,PR-Jaybee Binghay,DSWD)