Three cooperatives from the humble community of La Trinidad, Benguet will soon start selling sumptuous breads and pastries after receiving a boost from the Aboitiz Group through starter kits and skills trainings necessary to start up small businesses.
The Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group, in partnership with AboitizPower hydro unit Hedcor-Benguet and Aboitiz food business unit Pilmico Foods Corp. empowered these cooperatives by jumpstarting their livelihood to serve the community as a whole.
“We thank the Aboitiz Group for the assistance extended to us. We have truly learned a lot during the training sessions. The big challenge for us now is to apply these learnings so that we can be of service to our cooperative and to the community,” said FelinaMercoles, a native of La Trinidad, Benguet and manager of the Barangay Alapang Multi-Purpose Cooperative, one of the beneficiary cooperatives.
Three cooperatives, namely Balmuco, Thanksgiving MP, and Lamut MPC, were provided with bakery starter kits after their members like Felina passed the recently conducted National Certification II on Bread and Pastry Production conducted by Benguet Technical School.
The kits included ovens, stainless working tables, bread racks, dough rollers, bread showcases, and other baking accessories. These cooperatives are soon to open bakeshops in their respective communities. Meanwhile, another group, Bineng Women’s Association, will also be provided with bakery starter kits this year.
In addition, three more Benguet cooperatives were provided with opportunities for additional income for their members after receiving sewing kits. These starter kits were provided after they passed the National Certification II on Dressmaking.
This assistance provided by the Aboitiz Group to cooperatives in Benguet is aligned with the Benguet provincial government’s livelihood programs, specifically the Livelihood Loan Assistance Program that aims to provide additional income opportunities to more communities and budding entrepreneurs like Felina.
“We will continue to harness our resources to empower more cooperatives nationwide. Our goal is to transform these cooperative members into entrepreneurs and assist them so they can generate more income, eventually helping them lead better lives for their families. This is part of our promise to advance business and communities by co-creating safe, empowered, and sustainable communities,” said Maribeth Marasigan, first vice president and COO of Aboitiz Foundation.
Aboitiz Foundation is the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group that was established in 1988. Its purpose is to drive change for a better world by advancing business and communities through programs in education, enterprise development and the environment.