The Kapitbahayan (family-beneficiaries) of Basic (Brothers and Sisters in Christ) USWAG-Gawad Kalinga Village in Brgy. Banbanon, Laak has another reason to smile for aside from the houses given to them years ago, a livelihood project was also introduced to them through the barbecue stick production.
On its initial stage, they were able to produce a total of 220 bundles of barbecue sticks for chicken and 260 bundles of sticks for pork. Each bundle has 100 pieces of barbecue sticks and sells for P23/bundle and P10/bundle, respectively.
The initiative is a joint partnership with the Provincial government of Comval through the Agriculturist Office (PAGRO) and Penong’s Franchise Corporation which is a restaurant chain known for its tasty chicken and pork barbecue among other dishes.
It can be recalled that a Memorandum of Understanding was made between the Basic Uswag-GK Village represented by its President Reynaldo Ganza and Penong’s Chief Operations Officer Ace Cayunda last March 21, 2014 in time for the launching. After which, series of training and technical assistance on barbecue stick production were conducted to the Kapitbahayan.
According to Sr. Board Member Tyron Uy, “what we earn, we also give back to the community so it is a win-win solution.” He said that empowering the community to be self-reliant and ensuring that the GK sites in Comval will have an alternative source of living has always been one of the priorities of the local government through its Bayan-anihan program.
Daisy Pojenas expressed her gratitude saying the project has helped them a lot. Having no job, she tends to the house and their 7 children. “Paglakaw sa akong mga anak sa eskuwela, manlimpyog balay, muadto mi sa among gulayan. Karon ang sobra namu nga oras, di na masayang sa wala kay muhimo naman mi ug barbecue stick,” (after we send our children to school, we clean the house, go to our vegetable plot. Now, our time won’t be made useless as we are now pre occupied with making barbecue sticks) she said.
At present, the community supplies the barbecue sticks on 2 Penong’s restaurants in Tagum City only but coordination with concerned stakeholders continues as they plan to expand their market as well as ensuring the sustainable source of material by planting bamboos in the village’s adjacent swampy area. (fe f. maestre/ pgo-ids comval)
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