ALONA partylist Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez (center, in green dress), Unisan vice mayor Danilo ‘Junjun’ Suarez Jr. (4th from right, in whi...
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| ALONA partylist Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez (center, in green dress), Unisan vice mayor Danilo ‘Junjun’ Suarez Jr. (4th from right, in white) and Provincial Agriculturist Roberto Gajo (2nd from left, in red shirt) and members of the twiners and weavers association at the turnover of twining and weaving equipment in Bgy. Malvar, Unisan, Quezon. (JOHN BELLO) |
UNISAN, QUEZON – Residents of 5 villages here were boosted with a turn-over of twining and weaving equipment and the inauguration of a 1 kilometer farm to market road project that spell empowerment for them and to their community.
Twiners and weavers of coconut fibers from barangays Punta, Malvar, Pag-aguasan and Kalilayan Ilaya were recipients of 5 sets of twining and weaving equipment that is expected to boost their livelihood activity.
ALONA partylist Rep. Anna Villaraza-Suarez, vice mayor Danilo ‘Junjun’ Suarez Jr., provincial agriculturist Roberto Gajo and barangay officials led in the simple turnover ceremonies to the beneficiaries who expressed elation for the equipment that would boost their income.
“Malaking bagay ito sa aming ginagawang paglalala at paglulubid para sa aming kinikita araw-araw,” a female middle-aged weaver in Bgy. Punta told Business Mirror at the sideline of the brief turnover program where Villaraza-Suarez, vice mayor Suarez and Gajo made inspiring speeches for the participants.
Villaraza-Suarez, Suarez Jr. and Gajo urged the participants to make good use of the twining and weaving equipment and to use their time to earn daily in their weaving and twining activity rather than engage in idleness and endless gossip.
The neophyte congresswoman has talked with Melinda Ogma who has been blind for the past 10 years but learned to weave and has been earning an income of up to P2,000 a month for P2 a piece of 13 meters length of twine rope used in making a geonet.
A geonet is made using coconut fiber for slope enhancement to prevent landslides on shorelines and riverbanks. A decorticating machine is used to process coconut husks to separate coconut fibers, called coir, from the coco dust.
Gov. David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez thru the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) headed by Gajo has partnered with Tropical Prime Coir Corp. (TPCC) to launch a village-type coco fiber utilization project. Members of the Kalilayan Twiners and Weavers Association in Bgy. Ibabang Kalilayan, Punta, Malvar and Pag-aguasan will be the beneficiaries of the project.
Lilibeth Cagula, president of Ilayang Kalilayan twiners and weavers association, said they have 60 household members housed in 3 core housing and each member gets to earn P200 to P300 daily in making twine ropes for the production of geonets.
Monette Jacobo, coco fiber utilization project coordinator at OPA, said their partner TPCC supplies the twiners and weavers with raw materials such as coco fibers and a geonet is done by 2 partners who can produce up to 3 geonets a day. A geonet, measuring 1x25 meters long, fetches P550 each for the partner weavers.
Gajo said thru these village-type coco fiber utilization project they are giving livelihood and empowering the beneficiaries according to their level of skill and ability.
At the team-building activity and Christmas party held at Ilayang Kalilayan, Gajo, who acted as the emcee of the program, announced that Congw. Suarez and OPA will be conferring awards next year for top producers of twiners and weavers among participating competing barangays of the project.
After the turnover of the twining and weaving equipment for the 3 barangays, Villaraza-Suarez and Gajo visited the soon to open Quezon Food and Herbal Processing Center and Plants and Root crops Nursery in Bgy. Talipan, Pagbilao town.
Earlier, Congw. Suarez, mayor Nonato Puache, vice mayor Suarez Jr., municipal councillors and barangay officials led the blessing and inauguration of the farm to market road project in Bgy. Bulo Ilaya which would benefit its 1,066 residents along with residents from the adjacent barangays of Burgos, Mairok and up to Kalye Dose on the border of Atimonan town. The construction of the road project has been funded by the office of Congw. Villaraza-Suarez.
“Patikim pa lang po ito at may mga kasunod pa sa ating pagtutulungan para mapaunlad ang ating mga barangay,” Villaraza-Suarez said in her simple halting Tagalog, addressing the residents of Bgy Bulo Ilaya led by Bgy. Chairwoman Marissa Tapiro and her barangay councillors referring to the completion of the 2-lane road project in the barangay.
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