The Department of labor and Employment- Cordillera Administrative Region- through the Kalinga Field Office (DOLE-KFO) empowers beneficiaries from all walks of life to be productive and proactive through the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) assistance.

“People deserve a helping hand as they race through life, whether they stumbled from bad choices or from bad circumstances.” –winterp

Beneficiaries from the province include 10 local former-insurgents who will start up their livelihood projects with a total amount of P298,088.00 worth of assistance in the form of goods or implements. Their proposed individual livelihoods include rice retailing, sari-sari store, and backyard hog raising projects.

The beneficiaries who hail from ELCAC-identified barangays in Kalinga will be responsible for providing the fixtures or appropriate premises for their approved economic ventures. The proponents, who are equipped with basic entrepreneurship skills, will promote their businesses with the assistance of their families and through word of mouth.

Of these approved projects, two backyard hog-raising projects have been awarded with the initial materials including the three piglets, starter, grower and finisher animal feeds, and vitamins.

For the other approved livelihood projects, the DOLE will provide materials including the initial goods for retail such as sacks of rice, basic grocery commodities like snacks, cooking essentials or  canned food, general cleaning or personal hygiene items, and the like.

The undertaking with the proponent-beneficiaries, who have previously surrendered to the Joint AFP-PNP intelligence Committee, will enable their reintegration to the society, with the end goal of ceasing armed struggle against the government.

Similarly, the Mother’s Group Organization (MGO) of Liwan West, Rizal, Kalinga received assistance for their Catering Services and Bread Making Project in the form of tools such as  refrigerator, frying pans, hot and cold-water dispenser, steamer, chairs, food warmers, burner gas stove, rice cooker, pressure cooker, and foldable rectangular tables, amounting to P244,862.00.

The MGO which was informally organized by 17 members in 2005, now consists of 51 homebased women workers, including 8 senior citizens. Their group grew in numbers and officially registered with the DOLE-KFO last 2012 creating a viable recognition of the role and contribution of women in the community while uplifting the overall economy of the local food industry.

DOLE-KFO Head Avelina D. Manganip stated how the group’s hard work and unity showcase their unwavering intent of making a positive impact in their barangay and in the rural area.

The group’s food-venture which existed since 2014 was greatly affected by the pandemic. Senior LEO ma. Lourdes O. Canseco noted that their industriousness molded by persistence resulted in the recreation and re-materialization of their food catering business.

To date, the livelihood project beneficiaries sustain their endeavors as they trek an uncertain future- with a brighter hope and an even brighter road ahead.

 

end//Daryll Ponard with initial reports from the DOLE-KFO
Photo credit to the DOLE-KFO