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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.

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