Women and Social Entrepreneurship for Change

The young women, some still in their teens, of Bugkos Kabataan brought out a basketful of handcrafted bead bracelets, braided string bracelets, and handmade bead jewelry for girls and boys alike. Ella, the hair breaded president of the community youth organization in Canaman, proudly laid down on my office table their group’s finished products that they want to display and sell at the Feria de Camarines Pustoriosa of the Department of Trade and Industry on August 14 to 18 at the Atrium of Robinsons Naga in cooperation with Provincial Government of Camarines Sur, Camarines Sur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CSCCI), Zonta Club of Naga and Camarines Sur, Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a product of collaboration according to DTI Provincial Director Jay Percival Ablan.

The Pustoriosa, DTI Coordinator Glenda informed me, will showcase the wearable products crafted with “culture and style” by local MSME artisans and designers of Camarines Sur.  She had always invited me, as the president of JaimEliza, which markets my healthy innovation, the popular ESense natural stress relief oils made from citronella, pili pulp, kalamansi, and lemongrass to join trade fairs and exhibits. This time, I extended the invitation to two registered community-based organizations, which volunteer-led Tabang Bikol Movement helped organize among poor disaster survivors:  the Bugkos Kabataan and Ilaw ng Kababaihan.

Ella was 16 years old when I helped her and her nine teen friends set up the Bugkos Kabataan in 2020 during the Pandemic at the People’s Farm in San Agustin, Canaman Camarines Sur. I remember how extremely zealous they were at the meeting, with some expressing the hope that they want to make a difference, especially in the critical period of uncertainty of the COVID-19 Pandemic. When I asked them why they wanted to organize themselves,  most replied that with their organization, they can help others by helping themselves cope with life difficulties as young people and preserve their mental health. They wanted to find purpose in their lives amid the uncertainty of the global Pandemic.

Their desire to be together and provide support to each other was understandable. Ella, her sister Marcela, and Lujille are young daughters to leaders of Ilaw ng Kababaihan, a community women’s organization that sprang forth from the womb of the more extensive People’s Organization of Disaster Survivors (PODiS) in Canaman that TBM organized in 2017 after the fury of the December 25 Typhoon Nina that left hundreds of farming families homeless and damaged crops. Many of them belong to those severely affected. They saw how belonging to social groups like PODiS and ILAW helped their parents and families cope with the stressors of life, Typhoon Nina, Rolly, and Tisoy, and move forward.  A Global Burden of Disease study shows that young people and women are the worst hit in any crisis. When the Pandemic came, social isolation induced multiple stress factors like loneliness, financial worries, and exhaustion that often led to anxiety and depression. That is why being part of a meaningful organization helps deter feelings of hopelessness. Their Kurit Aki art workshops that began in 2018 for children as a psycho-social event continue to this day.

Women Entrepreneurs

Every Tuesday is the regular weekly meeting of the Social Enterprises Development (SED) project of the Mariners- TBM, and CBSUA with the CHEd that began in 2023 and will soon culminate in December 2024.  Last Tuesday, aside from Ella and Bugkos, were Rechel, Josie, Grace, and Heelga, all women leaders organized from among disaster survivors now turned entrepreneurs who have committed themselves to engage in mainstream business with advocacy to lift themselves from poverty. With SED, these women and their members signed up for various entrepreneurial skills training, including organic farming, food processing, vermiculture, financial management, culinary, massage therapy and barber, handicrafts, and even woodcrafts.

Spread out on the table at my office were various products, mostly agri-manufactured, which community-based organizations produce and hope to market for revenues and their organization’s health. Rechel, president of the Ilaw ng Kababaihan of Ocampo, an all-women member of Indigenous People in barangay Guinaban, Ocampo Camarines Sur, is also the IPMR or Indigenous Peoples’ Mandatory Representation (IPMR) of her barangay mandated with decision making as mandated by the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act since 1997.  She brought their group’s handmade organic ginger tea, banana chips, crispy peanuts, and “rock and roll,” newly learned skills they have come to embrace.    

I invited a lady entrepreneur who shares my advocacy for good, healthy food and a clean environment, TinTin, a restaurant owner, to share knowledge and practices on running a simple business.  She observed how the culture of involvement has an impact on the way a company is run. She advocates the traditional “customer satisfaction” to get into the market. I have always believed in the social value chain of entrepreneurship that aspires to community-inspired change in the lives of the stakeholders. I believe in a business venture that aims to create social change or impact a social cause to help create a better world.

Ingress for the DTI-led Pustoriosa was at 10 pm that day. In an instant, the all-women force of Grace, Heelga, and Ella, with Josie at the helm of the tricycle, with their carefully packed products onboard, were off to Robinson’s Naga to set up their booths #38 and for JaimEliza #39 until 2:00 am.  Women power indeed!