Brewing Coffee Project in Ilocos Taps Pantawid Pamilya Beneficiaries

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in partnership with sixteen government agencies, set up the Piddig Organic Coffee Production Project in Ilocos Norte under the Convergence Area Development Project of the Regional Convergence Initiative for Sustainable Rural Development (RCI-SRD).

The coffee production project initiated by Piddig Mayor Eddie Guillen serves as the pilot project of RCI-SRD, the convergence strategy of government which aims to effectively utilize untapped land and generate wide scale employment for the local residents.

Among those who will benefit from this government convergence project are some 700 beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program from Piddig town. The beneficiaries have been tapped to supply the fertilizer requirement of the coffee seedlings.

With this, DSWD through its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) provided P3.5 million to the families as a starting capital for their vermicomposting production. Vermicomposting is the breaking down of organic material through the use of worms, bacteria, and fungi.

DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said that this multi-agency project aims to sustain the economic well-being of Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries by providing them an extra source of income.

Pantawid Pamilya is a human development program that invests in the health and education of poor families, primarily those with children aged 0-18. It provides cash grants to beneficiaries who comply with the conditions of sending their children to school, bringing them to health centers for checkups, and attending the monthly Family Development Sessions (FDS).

On the other hand, SLP is a community-based capacity building effort that seeks to improve the program participants’ socio-economic status. SLP is implemented through two tracks: Micro-enterprise Development and Employment Facilitation. The Micro-enterprise Development track supports micro-enterprises in becoming organizationally and economically viable, whereas the Employment Facilitation track assists participants to access appropriate employment opportunities.

Source: www.dswd.gov.ph