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[av_heading heading=’ How to raise ‘pandan’ weavers’ production?’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Monday, May 1, 2017
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ILOILO – Increasing product demand is rendering pandan weavers in Barangay Baje, Leon town short of raw materials.
To raise their production, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) considers paying residents of nearby villages to plant pandan under a “cash for work” scheme.
“It’s actually employment that we are generating in the community,” said Assistant Regional Director Salome Siaton.
The Labor department is also pushing for more market opportunities for the Baje weaving community, a recipient of the agency’s Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program.
The all-women weaving association creates bags and mats out of pandan, which is abundant in the barangay.
The weavers were first exposed during the second run of the Weekend Tienda in March in Iloilo City. They earned more than P40,000.
Their display in Barangay Bucari — the “little Baguio” of Iloilo province, home to the tourist-attracting “rice terraces” and cool weather — during the Holy Week on the second week of April earned for them P80,000.
The Baje weavers joined the third run of the Weekend Tienda from April 28 to May 1.
A representative was also invited to speak during a DOLE livelihood forum for informal sector workers on Labor Day at the Atria Park in Iloilo City.
In 2016 the DOLE, Rep. Arcadio Gorriceta (2nd District) and the local government of Leon poured in P434,120 in livelihood support to the weavers.
The amount covered equipment and raw materials for product quality enhancement and packaging and labeling. (PNA)
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