The PACAP12

Mt. Matutum Integrated Conservation and Development (MICADEV) Project
about 40% of total memberships were women. Women also comprised 50% of the staff
and 50% of the BOD members.
The cooperative had been able to access resources and established their own socioeconomic
projects for the benefit of the members. Its pineapple contract growing arrangement
with Dole Philippines, Inc. was reported to have been able to increase members’
monthly income by more than 50%. The coop had been registering net profits from 1997-
2000. Its average net profits averaged PhP322,616.25 per year.
MSFC in Barangay Cebuano, Tupi had been gradually transforming itself into a selfreliant
people’s organisation. Its membership grew steadily from about 30 when it started
in 1997, to 87 at the end of year 2000. About 33% of total membership was composed of
women. Officers and staff were trained on leadership, coop management, and bookkeeping,
and were being developed to eventually make the coop a self-reliant and independently
managed organisation.
The coop recently opened a consumer store to service the needs of members for
consumer goods. MICADEV provided the coop with a solar dryer and a corn sheller.
Corn marketing was a major business activity of the coop. Its gaining financial operations
indicated a trend towards self-sustainability.
Not all MICADEV-AFA-assisted coops were as successful as LPMPC or MSFC, but most
of them were exhibiting indicators that showed improved capacities for self-reliance and
sustainability. Cooperatives in Barangay Datalbila and Sitio Datalbaca in Malungon,
Sarangani province were reported to have been registering financial net profits. About
20% of the total membership was B’laans and 40-60% were women.
Household/Individual Level. In the absence of a thorough evaluation, effects of
program implementation on individual coop members or their households could
only be established by observation.
In Landan, Polomolok, most members of the LPMPC had been able to make improvements
on their dwellings. They had also been able to purchase appliances, vehicles, and
other conveniences. Many B’laan coop members were able to afford to send their children
to high school and college. Much of their increased income and economic capability came
from the pineapple-growing project with Dole Philippines, Inc.
In Barangay Datalbila, Malungon, MFI project officers observed that coop members
had improved their productivity and income. They attributed this to the project’s livelihood
assistance program. Access to potable water was improved by the construction of a
safe domestic water supply. Improvements in the quality of life of coop members was also
deduced from the way they dressed when they attended community meetings, and by the
fact that the temporary materials they used for constructing their houses were gradually
being replaced by more permanent materials that offered increased security.
B E S T P R A C T I C E S I N C O M M U N I T Y D E V E L O P M E N T 37