Monday, July 23, 2007 Jatropha-producing village draws Dolefil's interest
HOUSES painted with blue, red, orange and green, among other bright colors, dot a community here still struggling to rebuild their lives tattered by flashfloods about five years ago.
In the village of Mabuhay is the secluded neighborhood called "Promised Land," accessible through a 20-minute ride by a habal-habal (motorcycle taxi) or jeepneys.
Hundreds of families who depend on the sea for living reside in the Promised Land.
They used to live in the coastal village of Calumpang and Labangal but were forced to live in uncomfortable evacuation centers provided by the local government unit until their relocation three years ago.
Flashfloods that destroyed their houses showed them the doors to the evacuation centers.
But in their new community, the residents face life's fresh challenges with a positive outlook, an attitude apparently reflective of the multicolored, concrete houses bestowed on them.
"We are making adjustments just to survive. Our location is already far from the sea," Felix Bergado, president of the Kapitbahayan Gawad Kalinga Promised Land Homeowners' Neighborhood Association, said.
While there are ornamental flowers in the backyards of the homeowners, tuba-tuba or Jatropha curcas gets prominent spaces in the garden.
"We are making money from the seedlings even at one peso per piece," Bergado said, stressing that the crop is being pushed in the neighborhood as a livelihood project.
Recently, he said the tuba-tuba seedlings raised by the homeowners in their backyard nurseries have been sold to buyers for P150,000 to be cultivated in plantations.
The Promised Land straddles five hectares.
Around 150 houses have already been constructed, with 117 occupied, out of the target of 231.
The relocation site came possible through the concerted efforts of Gawad Kalinga, Couple's for Christ, and the local government unit.
Houses were constructed through the volunteer work of the beneficiaries or bayanihan, which is their counterpart to the project.
As the neighborhood strives to bat for better lives through their tuba-tuba project and other decent means to earn money, the community recently drew the attention of giant pineapple producer Dole Philippines, Inc. (Dolefil).
About a dozen foreign executives of the company visited the community, a rare scene for the neighborhood.
The exposure of the foreign Dolefil executives to the Promised Land forms part of their itinerary while in the area to discuss the company's worldwide corporate social responsibility strategies.
"We hope to replicate this kind of [housing] project in countries where we operate," Kevin Davis, Dolefil managing director said.
Dolefil is providing a day care school building for the community.
It can accommodate at least 35 children who have been using one of the houses for their early education needs.
The foreign executives, taking turns spading the concrete mixture, planted the time capsule for the construction of the project dubbed "GK Sibol School," which is expected to be completed in three months.
Sibol literally means "to grow" in Filipino.
"It [school building] will give the children nice time to have a good education," Mr. Davis asserted.
He said donating building and school equipment such as chairs and tables are among the firm's service to the community in return for the company's viable business operations in the area.
Every year, Dolefil shells out some P10 million for its corporate social responsibility program which also includes health and livelihood concerns, Davis said.
He noted the company hopes "to provide houses to all its employees in the country using the Gawad Kalinga system." The company employs nearly 6,000 workers.
Davis said the company is also willing to work with Gawad Kalinga to provide shelters to poor people in the area.
"Dolefil has asked Gawad Kalinga for training and it already started," Davis said.
Dolefil has a production plant in nearby Polomolok, South Cotabato, operating there for more than 40 years now.
Among the company's processed products are pineapple slice, chunks, crushed and tidbits in can, pineapple canned juice in various sizes, pineapple concentrate, tropical fruit cocktail, fruit bowl and tomato sauce in pouches.
Dolefil ventured in Polomolok town in 1963 and is maintaining at least 10,000 hectares of pineapple plantation through a rental scheme aside from the 6,000 hectares planted by contract growers.
Its pineapple plantations straddle the provinces of South Cotabato and Sarangani.
