THIRTY members of the Anahaw Basic Ecclesiastical Women’s Association (Abecwa) based in Barangay Anahaw, Hinigaran town have availed of the skills training on fashion accessories-making recently.
The training was facilitated by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Occidental and the local government unit of Hinigaran through the Bottom-up Budgeting (BUB) program.
Using the 2014 BUB fund worth P40,000, recipients were trained to produce accessories like bracelets, earrings, and various religious items from raw materials bought at the Bacolod City Central Market.
Gerin Vergara, senior trade and industry development specialist of DTI- Negros Occidental, said the activity aims to empower women-members to uplift the living condition of their family as well as help in the development of their community.
After the training, Vergara said the association has already earned an initial income of about P4,000. The remaining output was turned over to the Social Action Center in Bacolod City and La Carlota Showroom for display and selling.
“Their products will also be showcased and sold during the Panaad sa Negros Festival in April,” she said, adding that as an organized and registered organization, proceeds will be used as start-up capital of the association.
Under the BUB program, DTI, as one of the implementing agencies, monitors and helps recipients by particularly providing them market linkage.
DTI-Negros Occidental records showed that the LGU of Hinigaran has pending BUB projects worth almost P7.7 million. Of the figure, P640,000 is intended for 2015 and P7 million this year.
“The 2015 BUB project for Hinigaran was already proposed to the DTI Region 6 (Western Visayas) in Iloilo City while the P7 million for this year is still up for planning and drafting of proposal,” Vergara said, noting that based on the BUB implementation guidelines, new allocations could not be released without the liquidation of the previous projects. (EPN)