Buri Strips to Success
“BURI STRIPS TO SUCCESS”
Devilla CARP Beneficiaries and Farmers Association is composed of seventy-one (71) members. It was organized through the initiative of spouses Linda and Melecio Riego, when they visit their hometown, the Barangay Devilla where they shared their experiences and benefits gained as a member of a certain cooperative in Manila. Thru this some residents and relatives were encouraged and decided to form/organize a cooperative. With the assistance of DAR it was registered at Cooperative Development Authority on 1993 as DEVILLA CARP BENEFICIARIES MULTI-PURPOSE COOPERATIVE.
Thirty (30) co-operators/members agreed to subscribe capital of P850.00 each with membership fee of Fifty (50.00) Pesos. Every member pays the initial capital of two hundred fifty (P250.00) with a paid-up capital of P32,500.00. Lending is their initial business. Three (3) years later they engaged in mortgaging of agricultural land for the purpose not only to increase the income of the organization but to provide members and non-members immediate source of cash during an emergency.
Later in 1995, they put up Rice Retailing (NFA Rice) with start-up capital of Twenty Thousand (P20,000.00) Pesos from DSWD as a loan without interest.
Since Brgy. Devilla is a coconut producing community, buying & selling of copra becomes their first option to market. With the approval of the General Assembly, the project pushed through with an initial capital of Fifty Thousand (P50,000.00). They then decided to construct a decent size warehouse in the land they acquired in 2012.
In 2010, the cooperative was not able to re-register to the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA). As an association, Devilla CARP Beneficiaries and Farmers Association (DCBFA) was registered by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in 2011 with Registration No. 011-752.
To increase capital, the BODs promulgated and passed a policy that every member should pay Fifty (50.00) Pesos monthly. Twenty (P20.00) for monthly dues, P20.00 for savings deposit and P10.00 for Damayan Fund.
Like other entrepreneurs, there are many projects that come into their mind. They decided to engage in "buri" weaving since raw materials are abundant and readily available in the barangay. Some members are also skilled weavers and they have direct contact to market in Manila. In September 2016, the DAR in coordination with the DTI conducted training on New Product Development and in 2017, the training on Buri Product Upgrading was conducted. Bags, placemats, assorted bags of different sizes and utensil holders are the outputs. They participated in Local and Regional Trade Fairs like the MIMAROPA Naturally, where it became the opportunity to meet prospective buyers.
Rustan’s Supermarket purchased their "buri" products (such as gift boxes, utensil holders and baskets or "bayong") while other buyers became interested thus purchase order received.
Flora Creations sent product samples for execution and finished product was accepted. That was the start of the purchase order of nine (9) kinds of birds toy for export.
In 2018, the DCBFA qualified as recipient of the Village Level Farm Focused Enterprise Development (VLFED) program for being a level 4 organization with makeshift production center as well as pro-active membership.
Three hundred thousand (300,000) pesos worth of hard component was delivered on the condition that labor should be shouldered by the association. The construction started in July and finished within a month.
Relative to this, the DCBFA was chosen by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to be the project beneficiary of Regional Integrated Product Development Assistance (RIPDA) for the enhancement of product designs and Shared Service Facility (production equipment such as sewing, twisting and twining machine, dying vats and stripping devices).
Regular attendance to Trade Fairs strengthened tie-ups to satisfied buyers. Rustan's Supermarket continue their order and another purchase order of Parrot toys was forged. Buyer from China requires two container vans of braided buri (1 and ½ inches by 50 meters) for 1 roll. Required volume was not met for the meantime yet the requested volume of samples passed required standards was complied.
The requirement for I container van hold 16,000 rolls needing 206 people to finish one (1) roll a day, working twenty-six (26) days a month for three (3) months. The association is targeting 250 member-workers to meet the present demands.
Thru the assistance of the Department of Agrarian Reform and to standardize the equipment used in the processing of buri, Business Planning was conducted and the output was presented to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for funding. The DOLE approved and released nine hundred twenty-six thousand five hundred (Php 926,500) pesos for the project.
The increasing demand for buri products requires a steady supply of raw materials and manpower to meet the orders. The DCBFA expanded its operation to other barangays encouraging and recruiting residents to be part of the business.
At present, the association hired 5 regular employees, two (2) dyers and three (3) strippers earning P 2000/ month. Member-weavers also earned at least P2,000/ month.
“Without the help of the DAR, DOLE and DTI we could not achieve the benefits enjoyed by the members today providing livelihood adding up to our household income. The processing center, the equipment, the trainings and capital were pooled to achieve this momentous task. Thank you and hope that you will continue to promote rural development” uttered Josephine Balingit, Production and Sales Manager of DCBFA as she was about to attend Intellectual Property Office (IPO) Trademark and Global Standard (GS1) Barcode Orientation conducted by DTI at DAR-Provincial Office, Tanza, Boac.
Seeing the sunshine on the horizon, there is no turning back for the DCBFA. Well-Defined objectives set the goals.
