BUTUAN CITY – “This is the first time that the program has initiated this learning exchange forum for the participants and beneficiaries– wherein they can gather and trade experiences and best practices of their associations and inspire each other to grow and expand their horizons.”
These were the words of Regional Program Coordinator Renante Abendanio during the Pagtuon: Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) Learning Exchange Forum initiated by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office Caraga, through SLP, held at Dottie’s Place Hotel, Butuan City on December 18 to 19, 2023.
The learning exchange forum, attended by selected program participants and beneficiaries, is a platform designed to provide the served individuals and associations with a venue to exchange best practices and experiences and learn additional information from national agencies that can help them expand their current livelihood activities.
OIC-Assistant Regional Director for Operations Jean Paul Parajes graced the activity, and he rallied the associations and beneficiaries to participate actively in the discussions and workshops to bring home the new information and impart it to their co-members.
On the first day of the activity, Trinidad SLP Association of Surigao City and Anunang Fisherfolks SLP Association of Barobo shared the humble beginnings of their associations and projects and how they ventured into other livelihood activities to increase income. As a follow-up to this activity, the program organizers initiated a world cafe wherein the participants jotted down the challenges they encountered and resolutions they formed to sustain their projects.
On the same day, the SLP Regional Program Management Office (RPMO) also discussed factors in sustaining a livelihood to remind the program participants of what they learned during the social preparation stage.
To further the knowledge of the participants, DSWD-SLP invited resource persons from the Department of Agriculture (DA) Caraga and Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) Caraga to share about Market Linkages and Credit Facilitation and Registration and Licensing of Cooperatives and Growing into Cooperatives from Associations, respectively. These topics encouraged the program participants to widen the scope of their associations and said that they would tackle their ways forward with their fellow members.
On top of this, DSWD-SLP organized a learning visit at the KM-7 Farmer Producers Cooperative of Barangay Tungao, Butuan City – a people’s group assisted by the Department of Agriculture through its Philippine Rural Development Project. Cooperative Manager Nilo Calipayan shared a few slides to discuss the beginnings of their livelihood, how it has expanded over the years, and how it has helped their barangay and the communities there.
SLP intends to make this activity an annual event to allow the program participants to expand their activities by learning from others and acquiring new skills and information that motivate them to venture into more extensive opportunities. (Social Marketing Section/DSWD Field Office Caraga)
