Some Pictures from my first Community Visit as officer of DTI 12--South Cotabato RuMEPP. These were taken in San Felipe, Tantangan during a meeting with the local potters of Purok O. Belo. (September 01, 2009)

What I am thinking about Rural Micro-Enterprises and Enterprising the Poor

TALK THE WALK: Tales of Development 2
These are actual experiences in the development work and how these might re-shape our understanding of what development may be for the community and people we worked for.

(Thoughts about my first month in DTI’s Rural Micro Enterprise Promotions Programme)



A month ago, I got a call from Department of Trade and Industry-- 12 Regional Office. That call was for me to participate in the final interview of those who have been short listed among the applicants for a special program of DTI. And I got it.
Today, I am few days more than a month of working as provincial officer for DTI’s RuMEPP. My first month was devoted purely to making project proposals for the pending 2009 budget that was never moved because there was no program officer handling it for South Cotabato Province. The approved Annual Work Plan and Budget for 2009 was literally not touched. So the challenged for me was to make the budget moved through making proposals out of the matrix from the approved budget. And I did. Right now, I am finishing last proposal of including the participation of rural micro enterprises in trade fairs by provision of some assistance. The other proposals were about business development trainings and advocacy mechanisms for the programme.



Logo of IFAD. RuMEPP's Funding Agency

Starting to Understand the Programme

Anyway, what is RuMEPP? RumEPP or Rural Micro Enterprise Promotions Programme is a sort of poverty alleviating programme of the Government through DTI. Basically, it aims to help poor entrepreneurs and rural families in 19 selected provinces (which include South Cotabato) by providing technical and financial support for micro-enterprises, which can in turn benefit other poor families through job opportunities.

Focus on selected five regions in the country (CAR, Bicol, SOCCSKSARGEN, Eastern Visayas and CARAGA), the programme offers variety of services to rural micro-enterprises through capacity building (business development services), financing assistance and consultancies. Increase in income of rural household (as beneficiaries) is an indicator of the programme’s success. The programme is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Moreover, the RuMEPP documents states that the programme is unique to DTI’s regular mandated function. The programme would like to be more developmental through being pro-poor, creation of linkages for the poor households to trade and investment, being participatory and promoting gender and development (GAD) mechanisms. Of course, like all other programmes, it is also a complementation of other programmes of the Department.

So that’s it! After being brief with the goals and objectives of the programme and DTI in general, I was asked to focus and concentrate on making proposals. Due to lack of available materials, I forced (if the term is right) my self to understand all the generic documents I have scanned and started making the proposals.


Engaging with Programme’s Management and Operations

While preparing blueprints of the programme, I also participated in relevant RuMEPP affairs. On July 27-30, 2009, I was in Metro Manila to attend the Mid-Year Assessment of the implementation of RuMEPP at the national level. Aside from meeting the very few programme management staff of RuMEPP, some regional and provincial directors of DTI with USEC Merly Cruz, the most fundamental event was getting to know more of the programme and the challenges it is facing. That activity was followed by a light mission (for the lack of term according to IFAD consultant Yolando Arban) of IFAD with NEDA to assess the programme’s implementation. Region XII was selected to be the mission’s focus area on August 5 and 6, 2009.
Those two events gave me important ideas on how the programme would really be appreciated by its beneficiaries.

First, (though not literally stated in the documents) the programme is too ideal to graduate people’s organization in rural communities who have been assisted with livelihood assistance (dole-out in nature) by other institutions to make them entrepreneurs and grow their little businesses by capacitating them with business development tools and best practices and providing them market linkages and other technology support. Therefore, we support the sustainability of the livelihood projects and contribute to the increase of income of rural households.
Second, the Department is said to be the center for market linkages of all micro-enterprises in the business world. RumEPP then can let its beneficiaries market their products after they are assisted with development interventions like business development services, marketing distributions and channels, and appropriate production technologies and processes.

There is one bottleneck that the programme would have to address. It is the financing component. During the IFAD Mission, DTI 12 Regional Director Ibrahim K. Guiamadel said that the ‘microfinancing component should move’ favorably to the beneficiaries. While there is money allotted to finance the development of rural micro-enterprises through (soft) loans called micro-credit and support lodge under the care of Small Business Corporation (SB Corp) and other micro-financing institutions (MFIs), the challenged is for the beneficiaries to be able to access these available funds with requirements that are truly helpful to the rural poor (as defined by the programme as its beneficiaries). The phrase accessing of available funds are also limited to specific areas not necessarily RumEPP assisted. Thus, DTI-RuMEPP should assure that the MFIs (who are handling the microfinance) are available in the communities assisted by RuMEPP. Availability would mean that the MFIs are able to serve all beneficiaries of the RuMEPP. They shall not be selective (assuming that they get funds allotted to RuMEPP beneficiaries).


What can be unintended results yet helpful?

While listening to the proceedings of the meeting between the IFAD Mission Team and some Business Development Services Providers (like local service providers), I got an interesting message from the President of Sarangani Chamber, Sir Bronx Hebrona. He said that to enter into a ‘capital venture’ might help a lot while solving the challenge in micro-financing.

Here’s how this might work.

After DTI-RuMEPP gave capacity building and market linkage, the next step is supposed to be micro-finance. Most of the time, the beneficiaries don’t really got assisted by the MFIs. In between, according to Sir Bronx, the BDS provider can help. Part of the services of the BDS provider in a project contract can looking or showcasing the products of rural communities to some local buisnessmen interested to invest in said products. That can be! I hope we could pre-test that scheme here in Region XII.


Moving Forward

As I continue to understand the operations of the program I am co-handling, I can’t help but think of this always. How would I be able to make the poor really enterprising and how would I be able to formally link them to market world? In between that, how can the programme be really participatory, pro-poor, create linkages and promote gender and development?

അലിനവ് സരങ്ങനി

I will miss my co-workers--- their laughters.

I will miss the community--- their aspirations, dreams, and hopes.

I will miss the PGO people-------

Reinventing Youth Volunteerism and Community Service for Peace in Southern Mindanao: The Story of Tri Youth Movement/ Volunteers

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Tuyan Elementary School is ‘school of peace’

Text/ Photo: Ernesto C. Casiple, Jr./ PGO—Kalinaw

Following the continued support to lasting peace in Mindanao, Tuyan Elementary School (TES) in Malapatan is established as School of Peace. Declared as the very first school of peace in SOCSARGEN Area, “TES will become a learning institution committed to promoting basic quality education that is grounded upon the universal values of a culture of peace,” according to Rey Tan, Deputy National Programme Director of ACT for Peace Programme. He added that it seeks to strengthen capacities on integration and mainstreaming of the Culture of Peace principles through Peace Education and Teacher Education.

Mainstreaming Peace Culture

Generally aiming to contribute to the overall peace and development efforts of institutionalizing peace education in Southern Philippines, the establishment of the School of Peace is also in support to the implementation of Executive Order # 570 mandating Department of Education to promote peace education.

Mamerto Tolentino, Division Peace Coordinator of DepEd Sarangani, said that DepEd is thankful for the initiative of Kalinaw Sarangani and ACT for Peace Programme for strengthening peacebuilding efforts in Sarangani. He emphasized that with the establishment of the School of Peace; there will be sure increase of tri-people understanding and cross-cultural mutual relationship among the children.

On May 5-7, 2009, following the agreements during exploratory meetings, the teachers of Tuyan Elementary School and other stakeholders (including BLGU and PTCA officials and representatives from DepEd, SK Malapatan and Provincial Government and some teachers from Liwanag ng Kapayapaan Foundation in Quezon City) attended a training on the Culture of Peace for Peace Educators at Durian Garden Polomolok South Cotabato. The training that was facilitated by Prof. Estrella Cantallopez of Notre Dame University in Cotabato and Mr. Ronald Hallid Torres of MSU—Maguindanao was the initial step towards the development of TES as a peace school.

According to Engr. Cynthia C. Guera, SCM—Program Manager of the ACT for Peace Programme, the activity is a support to the key thrust of the programme to work with the culture bearers such as the academe in order to multiply peacebuilding concepts and principles with the youths.

George P. Young, Jr., Peace Program Officer of Sarangani Province, added that the establishment of a peace program for the Province helps in sustaining peacebuilding initiatives of supporting agencies and programs like the ACT for Peace. He assured support to the development of Tuyan Elementary School as a School of Peace.

On the three-day COP Training, the trained peace educators learned peacebuilding concepts and tools that will help implement peace education strategies. Understanding Mindanao history and the complexities of peace and conflict were also highlighted during the training. On the other hand, ACT for Peace Deputy Program Manager Rey Tan also oriented the participants on the school of peace framework. Tan remarked that the establishment of a school of peace is also akin to the establishment of a community of peace.

Furthermore, the training was also a venue for the key staff/ teachers of Liwanag ng Kapayapaan School Foundation and Tuyan Elementary School to share experiences on peace mechanisms, learning, and reflections in the operation of their respective schools.

Launching Day

Immediately two weeks after the peace culture training, Tuyan Elementary School was formally launched to public as a School of Peace on May 21. The launching gained multi-sectoral and multi-institutional support. According to Edgar Egano, Head Teacher of TES, parents and community members of Barangay Tuyan in Malapatan also extended support by attending the launching.

The launching day which was described as a festivity by some teachers, gathered around 500 visitors and guests. No less than Mayor Aida Singcoy, represented by Hon. Kagawad Felipe Pulanco, gave the overall message of support to the School of Peace Project. She thanked the ACT for Peace initiative of conceptualizing the project.

Meanwhile, Asst. DepEd Sarangani Division Superintendent, Isagani dela Cruz expressed how thankful DepEd is for the multi-institutional effort of helping implement peace education as mandated in EO 570. “Truly, with all stakeholders coming together, this project will impact a lot in peace and development in Sarangani.”

Integrating Peace Values
in Lesson Plans

The challenge for teachers of Tuyan Elementary School is the implementation of peace education strategies. More importantly, the inclusion of peace values in all subject areas including Math and Science is painstaking and difficult. But on June 5-7, the teachers of TES, together with BLGU representatives, went to Cotabato City for a Peace Lesson Planning and Enrichment Workshop.

Facilitated by Dr. Myrna Tubigan and Prof. Estrella Cantallopez, both from NDU—Cotabato, the workshop gave them hands-on experience of integrating peace values in all subject areas taught at school. The facilitators expected that from then on, the teachers of Tuyan will subsequently include peace values both in lesson planning and in actual teaching practice.

Experiences in managing and implementing School of Peace were also shared by Agney C. Taruc, principal of J. Marquez Integrated School of Peace in Cotabato and Apollo P. Gamas, peace coordinator of Broce Central School of Peace in the ARMM.

Meanwhile, the visit of DepEd Regional Peace Coordinator, Pancho Balawag, came as a surprised to everyone. He challenged everyone to make every School of Peace in Mindanao a model of cross-cultural understanding and sharing and shall always avoid miscommunication and competition.

Moving Forward

In order to mainstream peace education in the basic education curriculum, strengthen the capabilities of administrators, teachers, and stakeholders in peace advocacy; and strengthen partnership among stakeholders in peace advocacy, a more visible multi-institutional support is encouraged by Balawag.

As a result, teachers of Tuyan Elementary School with other initial partners are planning to conduct a convergence forum for all institutions that would like to support the School of Peace through physical and intangible projects.

On the other hand, the peace and development program of Sarangani (Kalinaw Sarangani of the Provincial Governor’s Office), will conduct a culture of peace training to school heads, principals/ guidance counselors, in support to mainstreaming peace education at the elementary and secondary education level.

An Invitation:

An Invitation:

I am inviting everyone to visit our social networking page: http://youthcollaborativenetwork.ning.com/.

I would recommend to listen to some songs of Muslim youth around the world.

Talk the Walk: Tales of Development, 1

These are actual experiences in the development work and how these might re-shape our understanding of what development may be for the community and people we worked for.

Reviewing What Fits the Community

I was on my way to a meeting when , a friend of mine who works at the Vice-Governor’s Office in our province, quickly called my attention and asked me about some projects that may be implemented next year, 2010. The project shall benefit the out-of-school youth of the province.

I paused and think for a while. Few minutes later, while she was enumerating some projects on her list, I could not think of particular project she might like. What I thought was the necessity that for whatever project/s that or those might be, it will be important that the beneficiaries will be trained on managing and handling the project.

Then just lately, I came across this line from a book on culture and development. A teacher in a village in Burkina Faso told the Director General of UNESCO in one of his visits in the area: “Mr. Director General, you people in the UN agencies when you came here instead of asking our experiences, our skills or our dreams; you give us lessons and advice? Why do you not come here to listen first then give us advice based on what you heard.”

Often, development workers (and aspiring ones like me) tend to forget this rule in the development work. Community sensing should always be practiced not because it is mandated and for the sake of complying it. Workers should see this one not as a required blueprint but rather a way of seeing to it that projects given in the community reflect their own needs and cognizant with cultural implications.

The Development of “Kang-kong”

Following the development of peacebuilding initiatives in Mindanao, I happened to have documented few of the events for the ACT for Peace Programme in South Central Mindanao. Among these, that caught my attention, was a workshop for community enterprise development project beneficiaries last February 2009. The participants came from some post conflict or conflict affected areas in Mindanao.

During a dinner break, I had the chance of dining with group of men from Sultan Kudarat. The dinner was field with good food and of course with good food and humorous conversations. After two days of brain draining workshops, the team gathered in a night field with laughters. Most of the discussion concentrated in the theme, “the comfort the hotel gave.”

While everybody seemed to be enjoying the dinner, a participant noticed the deep-fried and egg-coated green leafy vegetable. He said, “Wow! What this is made of? Maybe, this is an imported vegetable because we are in a hotel.” Then everyone stared at him. “True, it’s delicious,” commented the other one.

Then our facilitator talked. “It’s made of kangkong leaf, coated with egg and deep-fried.”

Then everyone seemed to be surprise. A participant said that the Municipality of Lebak and perhaps neighboring places has lots of kang-kong. Yet not anyone of them perhaps thought of making this vegetable to a delicacy that can be served by hotels in the city by simply deep-frying it.

The incident above is indicative of another dimension in development work. Should we use to maintain the indigenous way or to re-package some of our locally produced products. The effects of enterprising and marketing are only appreciated and practiced at the urban areas. Rural areas are still starving for ways to develop their own local product and make it marketable.

Qualifying Peace

On April, I will form part of a huge focused-group discussion on peace in Mindanao. On March 13-14, 2009, the team who will do this research in respective local areas have already gathered to discuss the 'technical' necessities of reviewing and revisiting and orienting researchers on the do's and don'ts in conducting FGDs. This is about Konsult Mindanaw Project.

The Project is very huge... and will answer querries on redefining peace--inter-personal and intra-personal in nature.... Individual 'options' and suggestions for peace in Mindanao will also be asked to the participants....

True (enough), the participants in the activity on March 13 and 14 were well-versed on research yet they also fail to recognize one thing....the essence of 'soon' to be research undertaking...

The Project is a Community Dialogue.... the results of the FGD is crucial to community relations... it may bring peace or even worsen the divide between the Christians, Muslims, and Lumads....

The challenge is for the project to have

a.) a research team that has fair judgement on the GrP-MILF relations;
b.) facilitators that understand well Mindanao History of Peace and Conflict and its dynamics;
c.) documenters that will not document personal views; and
d.) participants that are open and sincere to share stories of victories and frustrations.

This is beyond research. This is a community dialogue. This is a small contribution to peace process. This is about bringing peace to Mindanao. This is qualifying peace.

Lost (again) and Found

I have not ‘formally’ written something (a note or whatever) for the past month (I think). This is another informal ‘thought’… Today is March 25, 2009. After a few hours of visiting places we call peace and development communities, I felt tired. I had lunch with some office mates and a common friend in the office. The summer heat can be felt now… even inside the airconditioned room… so we decided to put-off the lights. It helped at least. Thanks to the climate change campaign.

I would like to share what we have talked.

We were talking about power dynamics.

First, we were convinced that there shall be paradigm shift as to the way some head of offices should treat and react to things. We ended up believing that there has been continued ‘negative’ use of power and functions in the bureaucracy. Who’s who?

Second, we felt cheated by a system of miscommunication, tsismis (gossips), rumors, and popularity roaming around…. This has caused us a malicious thought that our older-role models-to-be has not done anything about this… rather… tolerate this kind of system.

Third, we might as well consider that we (the aspiring young professionals) will become one of them….. Huwag naman sana…

I don’t want this thought to go astray… I would like to find… answers and more answers please….

Ern and the Largest Philippine Flag

ERNS

What's in the Biggest Flag

(Photos from Cocoy Sexcion/ Sarangani PIO)

The largest Philippine flag ever made (Guiness World Record in 2007) visited Sarangani (February 26) and will stay in the Province until February 28. Students, business and private individuals, police and military, Provincial officials and employees, advocates among others joined hands in the unfurling of this giant flag that measures two hectares.

The flag was so awesome... thanks to the patient hands of those who made the flag. On the other hand, the flag reminds me of three things:

1. 111 years of freedom from Spanish rule,

2. six decades of freedom from American and Japanese colonization, and

3. exactly 23 years of freedom from Martial rule.

Like the flag that was unfurled in the Province, the above three points were 'symbols' of independence... and yet they remain symbols.... The continuing struggle for genuine peace and development... to gain GENUINE FREEDOM is bigger and larger than the largest flag ever imagined even not unfurled.

It is however very ironic to note that we Filipinos can be easily gathered in symbolic events like this (without neglecting its necessity) yet very difficult to be gathered in occasions of dialogues where real freedom is felt. For many of us, dialogues are boring..speeches are not even counted.... We always consider the symbolic instrument of the occasion as the star of the event. We forgot one thing...it is our gathering...our coming together....

Power hug to that... peace!

Women Call for Female Perspectives to be Heard in New Administration

January 15, 2009

By Shari Abrams, Hunt Alternatives Fund
www.hks.harvard.edu
(This article is from the website of Haravard University's Kennedy School of Government. My Professor and mentor, Rufa Guiam, is one of the women peace advocates invited during the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum)

Women peace activists from Sudan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines spoke about the importance of including women’s perspectives in security decisions and shared their personal stories during a panel discussion at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Wednesday (Jan. 14).

The four panelists were among 19 participants at the Harvard Kennedy School’s 10th annual Women and Security Program. Although the panelists come from widely differing backgrounds, they agreed that there is more to security than bombs or bullets.

“Women bring a different definition of security,” said Orzala Ashraf, founder and senior adviser of Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan. “For women it’s not about military solutions.”

Marini de Livera, a national project coordinator for the UN Development Programme in Sri Lanka, noted that although her country has seen female presidents, these women rulers are leading a patriarchal society.

“Ahimsa, nonviolence, is the theory, but violence is the practice,” she said.

De Livera’s point was echoed by Rufa Guiam, director of the Center for Peace & Development Studies at Mindanao State University in the Philippines.

“It’s not enough to have a woman [leader]; it doesn’t necessarily follow that she will reflect women’s concerns,” said Guiam.

In the Philippines, she explained, substitutions are allowed on ballots as long as the replacement candidate’s last name is the same. This means that women in positions of power are often replacing their husbands or fathers.

Ambassador Swanee Hunt, Eleanor Roosevelt lecturer in public policy at the Kennedy School, moderated the panel. She told of two female Swedish senators who found that when the number of women in the Swedish parliament increased, there were noticeable changes in the way they acted, spoke and dressed.

“There is a huge difference between being a woman at the top of a male hierarchy and being a woman who is part of a group that is 30 or 40 percent women,” said Hunt.

The panelists also had some advice for President-elect Obama. Josephine Abalang, deputy director of public relations in the Office of the Vice President of Southern Sudan, noted that President Bush is extremely popular in Sudan for the role he played ending the country’s civil war in 2005 and the incoming administration brings with it a degree of uncertainty. Abalang said she wonders whether the Obama administration will help with critically important issues such as the administration of elections.

Similarly, Ashraf worried that the new administration will spend much energy adjusting the level of U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan.

“Please, please, please listen to Afghans,” she said. “People hear Kandahar and think it is a dangerous city, but come meet Rangina [Hamidi, founder of an organization that provides economic opportunities for women], who works in Kandahar, who knows what women need, who knows what people need.”

The event was sponsored by the Women and Public Policy Program and Executive Education as part of the Women and Security Executive Education Program.

ERNS

ERNS

Above: pax post with MSU System Offiicals, Center is okir curving in Aga Khan. Below, Ern received token in behalf of Sarangani Province. All pix during the Educational Tour to Moro Weaving in Marawi, Jannuary 15-16, 2009.

Happy to finally visit the Institute for Peace and Mindanao (IPDM) and hear Dr. Mochtar Matuan, the Director of IPDM. IPDM is the first institute for peace in Mindanao.

Manggis and Ern

Manggis seems to serve as a welcoming chandelier to Ern at the Aga Khan Museum in MSU Marawi.

Glimpse at Marawi

Traditional Moro Weaving Educational Tour in Marawi City

Inter-PDC Moro Culture and Arts Training-Workshop/ December 27-30, 2008 at Durian Garden in Polomolok, South Cotabato