The traditional Bayanihan in the Philippines
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By the end of 2017, it’s not an exaggeration when we say that OPM may be the most active cocoa farming social enterprise in Asia, going around farms and barangays to teach correct cacao farming methods for free. In this newsletter, we update you with our Bayanihan activities from August until end of 2017. .
True to the essence of what a “Bayanihan” is, we did not and could not accomplish these series of important activities alone. As a social enterprise, we have limited resources though we have bottomless passion to accomplish our goals. We consider it a true blessing that our passion is matched by the efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry – CARAGA to create enterprising farmers in the region. They support each and every Bayanihan session with meals and political support.
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Then we have our leaders – the barangay captains – trickling down the news of free training to the roots – to our farmers. By the way, the smallest organized social unit in the Philippines is called a barangay. They prepare the venue and create enough buzz in the community so that our farmers are encouraged to find time to either acquire new knowledge or upgrade existing farming skills. Then we enter as cacao doctors – their teachers – sharing theoretical and practical knowledge which we ourselves have learned from our own cocoa farms. We’ve had the experience of teaching in a basketball court while rain and wind lashed on us as typhoon signal is raised in the province. We’ve taught in places where it’s 38 degrees and electricity was on-off. We’ve climbed mountains for a training. Each Bayanihan is an adventure, sometimes grueling, but always leaving us smiling once we see the test results of our farmers. So join us as we share in photos our students and our “classrooms”!
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Photo op after a foggy, rainy, windy training afternoon with our smiling farmers.
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View from the top. Excuse me, Mr. Goat, we’re just inspecting a barangay where we will hold a future Bayanihan.
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Municipality of Loreto
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMxUswjqXjU
Mayor Ligaya Lentija Otaza of the Municipality of Loreto, Agusan del Sur, welcomes OPM Team as they deliver Bayanihan Cacao Production Workshop.
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Barangay Osmeña
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Say “Cacao!” Our farmers pose for the class picture
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Barangay Hamogaway
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15Jt3nY8SaY
Cacao Doctor Iman gives her first question to assess the knowledge of our farmer participants – “What is the IMPORTANT ingredient of a chocolate?”
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Say “Cacao!” Our farmers pose for the class picture
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Barangay Gethsemane
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Say “Cacao!” Our farmers pose for the class picture
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Barangay Villa Ondayon
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Orchids greets us at Villa Ondayon!
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Say “Cacao!” Our farmers pose for the class picture
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Barangay San Francisco
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Barangay San Luis
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And a last but important photo op. Thank you, DTI – Caraga Region! Team of Ms. Brenda Corvera, Mr. Reonel Anenion, Ms. Annette Anduyan and RED Brielgo O. Pagaran 🙂
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