Ex-rebels, farmers in NegOcc learn to make crafts for livelihood 60 seek own land, houses in NegOr

Former New People’s Army rebels and farmers in the remote barangay of Isabela, Negros Occidental are making craft products for livelihood through training facilitated by the Association of Negros Producers (ANP), the organizer of the renowned Negros Trade Fair.

Since last month, about 100 of them, all from Barangay Riverside, have attended the product development and basic marketing workshop hosted by the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion at its headquarters in Barangay Libas.

“The aim is to equip them with skills to create marketable products and participate in prestigious industry showcases,” Sybel Nobleza, ANP external affairs manager, said.

The participants learned about crafting products from locally abundant raw materials such as pandan, nito, bamboo and used straws.

Pandan weavers have to present prototypes of their designs of eco-pandan bags for target customers such as wine producers, millennials and eco-friendly stores by the second week of January.

They learned to produce prototypes after they were introduced to product development and branding by Christina Marie Gaston, an international designer and chairwoman of ANP, who shared the journey of her brand, the Hacienda Crafts ompany.

Nobleza, who discussed product screening and basic marketing, guided the participants on aligning products with customer needs and ensuring a compelling narrative behind each creation.

Acknowledging the challenges, she emphasized solutions such as securing start-up capital, consistent market access, and protecting identities for former rebels-turned-entrepreneurs.

Nobleza said they plan to introduce the product prototypes to the Pilak Awards Competition in preparation for the 38th Negros Trade Fair later this year.

One of the participants, Nanay Adelfa, a 78-year-old weaver, said she is thankful for the opportunity to become an entrepreneur through the training workshops conducted by the ANP in partnership with the Negros Occidental provincial government and the Isabela municipal government.

“The ANP commits to closely monitor the product prototyping and organize further workshops,” Nobleza said.

This month, they will introduce training on food product development together with the Provincial Technology and Livelihood Development Center.

IN NEGOR, 60 former rebels seek own land, houses

Sixty former rebels (FRs) in Negros Oriental have completed the requirements for government land acquisition and titling, and are waiting for their Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOA).

These former rebels had already been profiled, according to Maj. Jecey Batiller, the Civil-Military Operations (CMO) officer and spokesperson of the 302nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army based in Tanjay City, Negros Oriental, so they may be included in the housing program under the provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (TF-ELCAC).

Manuel Galon Jr., Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARPO) 1 of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)-Negros Oriental, said they already received a Notice to Proceed with the granting of the CLOAs from their central office.

The FRs will be issued individual land titles through CLOA for 13 hectares of land in Barangay Bongalona, Basay town.

The area is part of the former CDCP Mining Corporation, now a government-owned and controlled corporation.

The land distribution is based on Executive Order 75 which “directs all departments, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities of the government to identify lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for agriculture for distribution to qualified beneficiaries,” the DAR official said.

Alongside its private partners, the provincial TF-ELCAC will build at least 100 individual houses on a one-hectare lot while the remaining area will be for communal farming and a community center, Galon said.

Kawayan Collective, a private firm promoting the use of bamboo for housing and other projects, has been tapped to build the units.

Galon said another ocular inspection is set in the coming months to fast-track the implementation of the project, the first of its kind on Negros Island for former rebels who decided to return to the fold of law.* (Nanette Guadalquiver/Mary Judaline Partlow, PNA)