The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Community Generative Action towards Reformative Development and Ending Poverty and Hunger (Community GARDEnPH) has reached a milestone, as the project completes its community development sessions – one of the components of the pilot implementation.

The project, which is implemented by DSWD Field Office Caraga, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, through the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) and the Local Government Unit of Tubay, was officially launched on August 24, 2023.

To address emerging social concerns, the Agency formulates social welfare and development models of intervention and enhance existing programs and services. One of these interventions is the Community GARDEnPH, which is a community-driven development action that aims to mitigate hunger through community organization and mindset transformation, inspired by principles of diligence, self-help, and cooperation.

Part of the components of the project is the conduct of community development sessions (synchronously conducted with the gardening activities) for beneficiaries to acquire desired values, leading to community empowerment. This was officially completed on May 9, 2024, through a culmination activity attended by Marilyn B. Moral of the Social Technology Bureau (DSWD Central Office), Hon. Jimmy L. Beray (Municipal Mayor of Tubay), and representatives from the Department of Agriculture.

With this development, the pilot project will now gear towards the conduct of financial management activities and additional training from ATI to boost the productivity of the farmer-beneficiaries.