Women and girls in the Philippines are in need of your support.

  • Home
  • CARE Philippines

Author: CARE Philippines

Time to put the most affected women and girls at the heart of UN climate talks, says CARE

Leaders must put the needs of those disproportionately affected by climate change impacts – women and girls –  firmly at the heart of talks during the 23rd annual UN climate summit (COP23), urges CARE International, the development and humanitarian organisation. With the UN climate talks, presided over by the government of Fiji, set to take place from 6 to 17 November in Bonn, Germany, an estimated 25,000 participants from nearly 200 countries have a chance to ensure that the disproportionate consequences of climate change on women and girls around the world are tackled.

Wolfgang Jamann, CEO CARE International, said:

“The quick successions of an unusually strong hurricane season in the Caribbean, recent typhoons and floods in Asia, and droughts and forest fires in recent weeks are a stark reminder that today millions of poor people are already suffering from climate extremes and are being displaced from their homes and stripped of their livelihoods. The devastation and suffering are acute in many of the poorest countries, for example, in Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Fiji, Vanuatu and many parts of Africa, and CARE is actively supporting measures to build climate resilience in these countries. Women commonly face higher risks and greater burdens from the impacts of climate change in situations of poverty, and the majority of the world’s poor are women: we are calling on the international community to give greater attention and invest more in helping the poorest and most vulnerable take actions to increase their resilience.”

Sven Harmeling, Head of the COP23 delegation CARE International, said:

“The Parties at COP23 know what is needed to end suffering while tackling the gender gap that widens from climate change impacts. They must adopt a gender-equitable loss and damage work plan that identifies sources to generate finance in the order of USD50bn per year for recovery following loss of homes, farms and land and the means to sustain their families. Governments must also decide to promote alternative farming techniques adapted to changing climate conditions which benefits the poor, as climate change increasingly undermines the food and nutrition security of small-holder women farmers and their communities.”

Fanny Petitbon, Advocacy Manager CARE France, said:

“Governments should come out of Bonn with an ambitious gender action plan. It must boost the effective participation of women in climate-related decision-making, who are still largely underrepresented among countries’ delegation leads and technical bodies, according to new UNFCCC statistics. Such a plan should also provide tools for countries to better mainstream gender equality in their national climate policies and promote direct access to climate finance for grassroots, women-led organizations and local communities. However, we are concerned that richer countries are not willing to adequately resource such a plan.”

COP23 also marks a crucial meeting on the pathway to finalising further rules required for the implementation of the landmark Paris Agreement, and increasing actions to cut emissions, aimed for 2018. Progressive developing and developed countries must stand together and resist any backtracking from the Paris Agreement by unwilling countries.

“The actions promised by the most powerful nations to cut harmful emissions from fossil fuels still fall short of the agreed upon goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C degrees above pre-industrial levels. This is a critical threshold which can still prevent many of the worst impacts on poor populations. COP23 must provide a clear way forward so that countries come back with more ambitious plans to cut emissions,” said Sven Harmeling.

CARE International will be attending COP23 with 24 international delegates from over 10 different countries, including the most vulnerable, such as Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya and Vanuatu.

Read CARE’s key recommendations for COP23 here:

http://careclimatechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CARE-COP23-policy-paper.pdf 

For further information contact:

Camilla Schramek, Climate Change Communications Officer for CARE International

cschramek@careclimatechange.org or +45 50 22 92 88

CARE International is a leading humanitarian organisation fighting global poverty and delivering lifesaving assistance in emergencies. In more than 90 countries around the world, CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women to equip them with the proper resources to lift their families and communities out of poverty. To learn more about CARE International’s work on climate change, please visit:www.careclimatechange.org

Calling for innovative ideas

A Consortium of humanitarian organizations composed of CARE, Plan International, Action Against Hunger and Citizens Disaster Response Center is now calling for IDEAS for its TUKLAS Innovation Labs project! Everyone can pitch innovative and inclusive ideas related to disaster preparedness that will benefit poor and vulnerable communities in the Philippines. And when we say everyone, it’s actually EVERYONE. It could be an individual, a team, a social enterprise, a farmers’ association, a women’s group, a team of inspired millenials etc.

Sign up at www.bit.ly/tuklasdotph  and follow TUKLAS Innovation Labs on Facebook for more information and updates.

About the Project: The TUKLAS Consortium led by Plan International in partnership with Action Against Hunger, the Citizens Disaster Response Centre, and CARE will implement a 21-month project to reach across the country to foster and facilitate innovative ideas and entrepreneurs, taking a user-centred approach to nurture, test and scale promising models to addressing the gaps to improved emergency preparedness in the disaster prone country. The Innovation Lab project will be implemented from 1st July 2017 to March 31st 2019 with labs/teams in Baguio, Manila, Tacloban, and Cotabato.

The Philippines TUKLAS Innovation Lab will support innovators to test and refine their innovations through an iterative approach geared to regularly review, gain community feedback, promote continuous improvement and evaluate for continue viability/promise. A pipeline of 20 – 40 projects will be identified and supported under ‘scaling’ and ‘piloting.’ The project will invest in the entrepreneurs as change agents, working with them to develop a capacity building programming to expand their ability to be leaders in disaster preparedness.  Operating four community labs as ‘co-working’ spaces, the project will offer a platform for innovation and a mechanism to identify and further invest in innovations coming from the grassroots.  The project will take all efforts to creatively and meaningfully engage non-traditional actors in preparedness from academia and the private sector.

This project is part of a wider programme being managed by the UK-based START Network’s Disaster Emergency Preparedness Programme. It will therefore also work in collaboration with the Network, its Innovation Lab partners, and the other 3 selected Innovation Hubs.

A Solid Foundation: Building stronger and safer houses for typhoons

Story by: Dennis Amata (Communications & Knowledge Manager, CARE Philippines)

Now with typhoon season already approaching the Philippines, the worry of people living in rural areas starts to grow. In the remote and agriculture-dependent village of Balagan in Santo Nino, Cagayan, the people have a different response.

While the strength of typhoons continues to intensify because of climate change, residents of Balagan in Northern Philippines know that appropriate preparation is key to minimize impact of disasters. The village is considered prone to flash floods because of its proximity to huge Cagayan River, the longest and widest river in the country. The village was severely hit by Typhoon Haima (locally known as Lawin) in October 2016 leaving people with damaged rice fields and destroyed houses.

“It was the strongest typhoon we’d experienced! My house wasn’t even spared and I wasn’t able to save my belongings,” shared Jocelyn Ancheta, a 48-year-old farmer who completely lost her house after the raging waters of Cagayan River swept it away.

Jocelyn used to live a few meters away from Cagayan River which is considered a danger zone. She later realized that she should have listened to warnings before the typhoon hit.

“Life after the typhoon was extremely tough. We lost our house and the rice fields were all damaged. We were about to harvest and we couldn’t help but witness how the destructive typhoon took our livelihoods away in a snap,” added Jocelyn.

Also living in Balagan for decades, Remedios Allorda also lost her house after the typhoon. Remedios, a 75-year-old widow, lives alone in her house since all of her children have their own families already.

“I immediately evacuated to my son’s house when I felt that that typhoon was getting stronger. The next day when I rushed to my house, I saw that it was totally destroyed. My roof was blown off and all of my clothes and personal things were washed out,” said Remedios.

CARE, in partnership with Cagayan Valley Disaster Response Center (CVDRC) immediately responded to the needs of the affected people in six remote villages in Santo Nino, including Balagan. Through the financial support of the Government of Canada, CARE provided cash assistance (128 CAD per household) that could be used for both construction labor and procurement of necessary repair materials.

Also, CARE conducted “Build back safer” (BBS) sessions with local carpenters and members of the community to help them build disaster-resilient houses. They were taught construction techniques such as proper bracing and roofing, using strong joints, building on strong foundations and safe locations. These techniques gave the project participants awareness and knowledge on how to make their houses safer and more durable. Tarpaulins and posters about the BBS key messages in Filipino language were also hung in strategic locations in the community.

The recipients of the support were also given the decision to buy materials based on their specific needs and to address BBS requirements. They were also able to save money on transportation and hauling of shelter materials when they procured as a group from a single supplier. The group was also able to negotiate for free delivery of shelter materials to their community and received other discounts due to their bulk order.

CARE and CVDRC also organized a “Shelter Roving Team” composed of a community mobilizer and two trained

carpenters who would go around and check the progress of the repair or construction in the community.

“We visited the houses daily to check if they (project participants) were able to apply the BBS principles. Some households were able to build less than a month while others took some time because of the availability issues on some materials and additional funds,” said Jocel Ramos, roving team member.

“What’s good about our community is we practice mutual aid and cooperation or what we call ‘bayanihan.’ We helped each other during the repair. Some provided free labor while others also shared some extra materials to those who are in need, especially to older people and single mothers,” added Jocel.

CARE, in partnership with Cagayan Valley Disaster Response Center (CVDRC), immediately responded to the needs of the affected people in six remote villages in Santo Nino, including Balagan. Thanks to financial support from the Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund, CARE provided cash assistance (CAD $128 per household) to be used for both construction labor and procurement of necessary repair materials.

CARE also conducted “Build back safer” sessions with local carpenters and members of the community to help them build disaster-resilient houses.

CARE and CVDRC also organized a “Shelter Roving Team” composed of a community mobilizer and two trained carpenters to check the progress of repairs and construction works in the community.

“We visited the houses daily to check if they (the project participants) were able to apply the build back safer principles. Some households were able to build less than a month after the typhoon,” said Jocel Ramos, a roving team member.

Jocelyn decided to build a new house in a much safer location after attending the sessions. She learned about techniques and jointly worked with her husband to ensure that these were applied in their new house.

“Now I feel more comfortable in our new house. I can sleep soundly every night. Whenever we experience strong rains, I am more self-assured that this house will be able to withstand,” shared Jocelyn.

Farmer-leader harvests the fruits of labor

Story by Dennis Amata, Information & Communications Manager, CARE Philippines

Rhodora has lived in the mountains of Antique, Philippines since she was born. Her parents used to be upland farmers so she also learned how to survive in a community away from the hustle and bustle of urban living.

“We just have a simple life here in the mountains. Most of us are upland farmers relying on vegetables, root crops and fruits to live. It’s also difficult sometimes because we don’t earn much money,” she shared.

Just like most of the people affected by typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, Rhodora has also her fair share of terrible experience as the typhoon whipped her house to destruction and uprooted her fruit bearing trees in her village Osorio.

“It was something we couldn’t forget easily. We also lost access to the town proper due to our remote location and the road leading to our village became unpassable,” she said.

The people of Osorio in the town of Culasi struggled to get back on their feet when Haiyan destroyed their livelihoods. According to the municipal data, 17% of its people have income less than the poverty threshold. The typhoon destroyed primarily the abaca (tree-like herb) and banana plantation located in the mountains leaving people with no stable sources of income.

Rhodora, a 48-year-old mother of three, remains optimistic as she also leads a community group called Osorio Farmers’ Association (OsoFA). She believes that through her association composed of 113 members (66 are women), they would be able to spearhead livelihood opportunities for their community members.

But Rhodora knew that this wouldn’t be easy as they had to deal with various problems and issues. Abaca production has been the people’s primary source of income since Osorio has a total of 63 hectares of abaca plantation distributed among its upland areas. Abaca or Manila Hemp is indigenous in the Philippines. It is grown commercially to extract fiber that is processed into clothing fabric or high-quality cordage or ropes in a ship’s rigging.

Just like in other villages in Culasi, abaca farmers are victims of exploitative pricing, low production volume and low productivity of farms.

“Most of the abaca farms in our village were not harvested because many farmers didn’t have the money to fund their processing needs,” she said.

Osorio has the largest abaca plantation in the town of Culasi but the large number of plantation remained unprocessed. It has also become one of the reasons why our men opt to work as “sakada” – local term for migrant workers in Antique who travel to another province as labourers in sugarcane plantations.

“It’s hard for our families because the men had to leave their wives to work in another place for six months. The women bore the burden of watching over their children while their husbands were away,” said Rhodora.

Rhodora revealed the struggles of women whenever their husbands couldn’t send money to them.

“Before our husbands leave for Negros Occidental, we already requested for cash advance from their employers. So when they’re already there, the employers deduct money from our husbands’ salary until nothing’s left in their pockets,” she shared.

“As mothers, we had no choice but to also work and look for various ways to earn. Some women in my village went to another province to work as house helpers,” she added.

Though we already had our association that time, we also couldn’t do something about it because all of us were affected by the typhoon and still slowly recovering. Good thing that CARE found us,” shared Rhodora.

CARE has implemented the Community Enterprise Facility (CEF), a livelihood recovery assistance project in Antique where community organizations are supported through financial grants and trainings to boost the abaca industry in the province and provide economic opportunities to people affected by the typhoon.

In partnership with Antique Development Foundation (ADF), CARE has worked with OSOFA to start a community enterprise on abaca processing and marketing. CARE provided the farmers financial support for their abaca processing activities as well as the capital for the association to buy raw fiber from its members.

Through the CARE project, OSOFA has become an abaca consolidator of the raw fiber from its members who are all abaca farmers. The farmers have their own farms and upon harvesting and processing, they can now easily sell the fiber to the association and get instant cash.

“CARE has also provided us with various trainings especially on enterprise and financial managament so we could be capable of sustaining our livelihood,” said Rhodora.

CARE also helps OSOFA to partner with the local government unit for the information and education campaign about the abaca industry development and the value-chain industry.

“We are targeting to increase our production volume from 6 tons a year to at least 36 tons per year,” said Rhodora who also referred to Manila Cordage Company (MCC) as one of their biggest buyers of abaca fiber.

The demand for abaca fiber now in the market is pretty high. MCC requires a minimum of 300 tons per month for the 3rd class fiber (commonly used to produce ropes).

Rhodora now sees that their hard work starts to pay off. Most of the men in their community have decided to stop working as “sakada” and instead stay with their families because they already have stable livelihood — which is abaca production.

“People in our village now have interest in planting, harvesting and processing abaca because they see that others get to earn from it. Like in my case, I get to save support my children’s education and even provide their basic needs,” said Rhodora.

She is also happy to see that because of the CARE project, the men don’t have to leave their wives anymore and children get to spend Christmas with a complete family. The women now also join their husbands during harvesting and help them in extracting fiber.

Rhodora has high hopes in the development of abaca industry in her province. She sees so much potential and believes that her province could be one of the country’s top suppliers of abaca fiber.
“Just give us two years, I think we’ll be able to do it,” shared Rhodora.

Leading cassava farmers after Haiyan

Story by Dennis Amata, Information & Communications Manager, CARE Philippines

Aside from being a farmer, Marites Acebo has been a coconut wine producer for more than 20 years. It has become her family’s bread and butter and even supported her children’s college education. But things abruptly changed. Marites never expected that life could lead her to a difficult road ahead.

When super typhoon Haiyan devastated most parts of Central Philippines on 08 November 2013, the coconut industry in the Visayas Region was also crippled as more than 90% of coconut trees were heavily damaged or totally destroyed.

“People in my village here in Barugo, Leyte largely depended on coconuts as their primary source of income. Like me, I make wine out of coconuts for a living,” shared Marites, a 43-year-old mother of five.

“After the typhoon, all our coconut trees were destroyed. We suddenly realized that Haiyan even swept away our dreams and hopes for our families because we didn’t know where and how to restart,” she added.

For six months, Marites and other farmers in her village struggled to regain their livelihoods. The men continued to work as farm laborers while women started planting various vegetables and nuts primarily for food consumption while waiting for the coconut trees to bear fruits again which will take 7-9 years.

But the situation didn’t remain gloomy for Marites and the people of Amahit. They eventually received an opportunity to help her community recover from the typhoon’s onslaught.

“I was contacted by Fatima Multi-Purpose Cooperative (FMPC) since they had programs in our community before. They explained to us that they are in partnership with CARE to support communities affected by the typhoon,” she said.

Marites was tasked to facilitate the formation of a community-based association in her village Amahit. She immediately mobilized the farmers and oriented them about the project that would specifically focus on cassava production.

Cassava is a woody shrub extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical countries such as the Philippines. Its edible starchy tuberous root is a good source of carbohydrates and considered a major staple food in developing countries.

To support communities heavily affected by Haiyan, CARE implemented the Community Enterprise Fund program that provided financial and training assistance to community-based associations. This is to restore their damaged livelihood and provide economic opportunities to the affected people. In Leyte, CARE has partnered with FMPC to carry out the livelihood projects. The initiative is supported by the Canadian Government through the Global Affairs Canada.

“At first, they were hesitant to join because they weren’t sure if we would have regular buyers of cassava. In our village, farmers only planted cassava for our families and for our livestock. We didn’t consider it as a serious industry,” said Marites.

But after ensuring that FMPC would be their buyer and there’s already an existing market in the region for cassava, the farmers entrusted Marites their confidence to lead the association towards recovery. This eventually led to the establishment of Amahit Farmers Association (AFA) composed of 53 members (10 are women; 43 are men).

Through the guidance of FMPC and CARE, the AFA was able to prepare a business proposal for a community-based cassava farming and production enterprise. The association received financial assistance from CARE that was greatly supported by a series of skill-building trainings.

“CARE conducted a lot of trainings for us including the management of our enterprise and various practical techniques to improve our production,” said Marites.

“It was a huge help for us because majority of the farmers here didn’t finish studies. The trainings gave us additional knowledge specifically on financial management. I think that’s the most basic yet important topic,” she added.

Each farmer received 8,000 pesos (218.16 CAD) to plant cassava. They also participated in trainings on enterprise and financial management, productivity, marketing etc.

But the farmers of Amahit faced another hurdle as they bore the brunt of the strongest El Nino on record. Four months ago, their cassava was affected by the extreme drought that led to dramatic decrease in yield.
“Because of El Nino, our cassava didn’t grow fully. Obviously, the quality was significantly affected so we had to wait for a few months to replant. It was very unfortunate because even our farm irrigation dried up,” said Marites.

The farmers became frustrated after what happened but Marites continued to encourage her members to move forward.

“We are very thankful that CARE and FMPC were still with us and helped us bounce back. We were also linked by CARE with the Department of Agriculture (DA) to learn more ways to properly grow cassava,” said Marites.

When the effect of El Nino subsided and Amahit got to experience rain, the association started replanting cassava. Most members were also able to harvest cassava after four months. Each farmer harvested 600 kilos while Marites was able to

harvest 4,000.

Through CARE’s assistance and initiative, the AFA is now a registered community association at the Department of Labor and Employment. Because of this, the association is already recognized by the government and could easily access government services and support.

“Right now, we are very fortunate to receive support from the DA. They granted us a solar cassava dryer and gripper that would really help us in cassava processing,” said Marites.

Marites shared that they are planning to engage in cassava processing that would provide more income to the members. They are looking forward to produce cassava pie, cake and chips for selling.

“The women are really interested in leading the cassava processing activities while men are more comfortable in planting and harvesting,” she said.

Marites shared that more women in her community are now interested in joining the association. She thinks it’s a good start for our women to have additional sources of income.

Because of Marites’ hard work, commitment and ability to effectively lead farmers in her village, she was selected to be part of CARE’s Community-Based Development Facilitators or CBDF. A CBDF carries out CARE’s enterprise trainings with the local government unit representatives in other assisted communities.

“I didn’t expect that CARE would trust me to become a CBDF. At first, I was reluctant because I wasn’t able to finish my studies so I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do it. But CARE told me that it’s not about educational attainment. The heart to serve is much more important,” shared Marites.

Marites accepted the new role and attended more trainings from CARE to prepare her for this endeavour.
“Actually when I was preparing my materials at home for the training I would conduct, my daughter asked me about my activity. I told her that this time I would be the one to conduct the training for farmers in other communities,” started Marites.

“My daughter told me that she thought I could only make coconut wine. She didn’t expect that I could even lead an association and be able to become a trainer someday. She said she is very proud of me,” added Marites.

A woman leader in action

Story by Dennis Amata, Information & Communications Manager, CARE Philippines

“And for our next speaker, let’s welcome here in front… Daisy Albao,” excitedly uttered by the event’s master of ceremony. Everyone in the room gave a warm round of applause as Daisy, a 50-year-old mother of six, walked towards the stage and started to compose herself.

“I am Daisy Albao from San Dionisio, Iloilo. Like most of you here in this room, I also survived typhoon Haiyan. I am here to share my story through a song,” then she started singing.

Daisy was one of the invited project participants of CARE to share in an organized conference her personal recovery from super typhoon Haiyan as well as her association’s journey towards economic empowerment. Her jolly personality was undeniably noticeable and everyone was inspired by her leadership, passion and commitment to help her community bounce back from the tragic experience.

“I composed that song for everyone here. It’s all about our experience after Haiyan, how we struggled and how we managed to slowly get back on our feet. I didn’t expect the crowd would be touched by it,” Daisy shared in an interview after CARE’s conference for its livelihoods recovery program participants.

Daisy hails from the coastal village of Agdaliran in Northern Iloilo. Her husband works as a fisherman while she also supports her family through seaweed farming. She is also the president of the newly formed Agdaliran Women Rural Improvement Association (AWRIA) which is being supported by CARE to provide livelihood opportunities to its 68 members.

Agdaliran is one of the most heavily affected villages in Northern Iloilo. Daisy recalled that Haiyan’s strong winds mercilessly destroyed their houses while the storm surges or big waves swept away their boats and livestock.

“That was our biggest challenge. We lost our house, our belongings and our livelihood. It was very depressing,” shared Daisy. “My family stayed in a shanty hut for two months because we struggled to earn money.”

But more than two years after Haiyan, Daisy has proven that recovering from a major disaster is absolutely possible. Her village received shelter repair support from CARE and after a few months the people were mobilized for the livelihoods recovery assistance.

To support communities heavily affected by Haiyan, CARE implemented the Community Enterprise Fund program that provided financial and training assistance to community-based associations. This is to restore their damaged livelihood and provide economic opportunities to the affected people. In Iloilo, CARE has partnered with Business Fair Trade Consulting to carry out the livelihood projects. The initiative is supported by the Canadian Government through the Global Affairs Canada.

“We were asked by CARE to form an association for this project. Fortunately, I was chosen by the women in my community to lead them probably because of my experience before with other local organizations,” she said.

Daisy narrated that there’s already an existing community organization in their village called Agdaliran Fisherfolks’ Association (AFA) prior to their formation.

“AFA is actually male-dominated. Their officers are all men so we decided to form another organization where women could actively participate,” said Daisy.

Upon receiving the financial support from CARE and BizFTC, the women of AWRIA has engaged in seaweed production. They bought needed materials and seaweed seedlings to start planting.

In the Philippines, seaweed is one of the most important aquaculture commodities. Seaweeds are exported either in raw form (fresh or dried seaweeds) or processed form used in food, pharmaceutical, beverage, and cosmetic industries.

“We saw the potential of seaweed production. Based on our assessments and planning sessions, our location is ideal for planting seaweeds. And also there is a big buyer of seaweeds in our area,” she said.

But Daisy and her members were tested by nature. They didn’t expect that things could suddenly turn to a different direction.

“One month after we planted, our seaweeds were destroyed and washed away by big waves. That was November 2015 when we also experienced typhoons. We replanted but after a few months we experienced long dry spell caused by El Nino which also decreased our production,” she recalled.

Daisy and her members couldn’t hide their frustration after what happened. She said that her members somehow lost enthusiasm and even received feedback from some men in her community that they couldn’t do it.

“I took it as a challenge when I heard that comment. I wanted to prove to everyone that we could do it. Good thing that we were able to save some seedlings so I mobilized my members and encouraged them to replant,” said Daisy.

Fuelled by determination, Daisy and her members participated in various enterprise management and technical trainings organized by CARE and BizFTC.

“Now we understand more the nature and types of seaweeds. We were taught how to properly plant, clean and harvest them [seaweeds] to increase our yield and protect them from various disasters,” she added.

Daisy also said that they have started consultations with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources. They learned about the specific type of seaweed most suitable to be planted in their area.

Learning has been non-stop for Daisy as she was selected to join a cross-visit activity organized by CARE in three other provinces involved in seaweed production.

“I had the chance to go to Cebu where we visited a huge cooperative that produces seaweeds. Then we went to Bohol to learn about processing. After that we also visited Agusan to learn more practical techniques. The trainings were all hands-on so it really helped me develop my skills,” shared Daisy.

Daisy ensures that whenever she attends a training, she gets to pass the obtained knowledge to her members. She also conducts a monthly meeting where she provides them with updates and also receives feedback and comments from her members.

Since the Philippines has been consistently hit by typhoons, the women of AWRIA started preparing for possible disasters. They have invested in perimeter fences, floaters and storage containers for their seaweeds.

“The perimeter fence is used to guard our seaweeds from strong waves while the floaters are needed for the seaweeds to grow in good quality. We’ve learned also from CARE that whenever there’s an upcoming typhoon, we need to harvest early and keep the seedlings in case we need to replant,” she explained.

Daisy admitted that at first their husbands were doubtful of them to manage a huge enterprise. The men were also complaining about their time spent in their seaweed plantation but Daisy and her members assured them that they would balance their time.

“We’re all mothers in our association and we all together dream for our children’s bright future. We want them to finish their studies. Eventually our husbands embraced our new role and realized what we’re doing is for our respective families. They now even help us in harvesting whenever they are available.”

For more than a year, AWRIA has experienced a lot. They may had a shaky start but determination has been their key to overcome such hurdles.

“We used to be plain housewives. We just stayed in our house to do household chores. But eventually we’ve realized our potential to also help our husbands provide income. We are absolutely benefitting from this project.”

AWRIA is currently supplying seaweeds to a local federation involved in seaweed trading also supported by CARE. They were able to sell 1 ton of seaweeds already.

“The money we earned helped us pay for our children’s school expenses as well as provide for their daily allowance. Some of my members were also able to pay their electric bill and pay debts from their income. We really thank CARE and all their donors for this opportunity,” said Daisy.

AWRIA is now a registered women’s association. This also becomes easier for them to access services and benefits from the government. And Daisy’s work doesn’t stop as she and her members are planning to venture too in seaweed processing.

And just like the message of her song, Daisy is optimistic that her association will flourish. She only has one advice for other women who experienced the same struggles.

“When you feel like quitting, think about why you started,” Daisy said.

Join the fight.
Sign up for our mailing list.