Caraga furniture manufacturers join Cebu show
Eleven small furniture manufacturers in Caraga participated in Cebu X International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition, held in Cebu last March 2-10, 2008, under APFTI’s Fair Trade Zone.
With the increasing popularity of Cebu’s furniture industry, international buyers have been regularly congregating in this annual event organized by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc (CFIF). This year’s buyer turnout, for example, exceeded expectations with over 1500 people from 78 countries, attending the event.
In preparation for the show, small-scale woodworkers from Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Norte worked with APFTI’s furniture designers Roberto Tambalo and Federico Nicolas in crafting new designs for furniture, door panels, and woodcrafts out of renewable driftwood, gmelina, lawaan, cocowood and cocolumber. “Our woodworkers are job-shop based artisans and they have limited production capacity, therefore, the merit and value of the items, which will be sale-able to buyers, should come from the original design and exceptional craftsmanship of their products.” said Tambalo. The challenge, according to him, was to come up with furniture with reproduce-able features that stand out. He added that community woodworkers are meticulous about details, especially on carvings, a characteristic that compensates the inadequacies in equipment and longer periods of production.
Training on “Strategic Marketing” was also provided, last February 18-22, 2008, to ensure that the producers, by themselves, could close deals during the fair. The training tackled negotiation techniques and marketing strategies suitable for small-scale manufacturers.
Eleven small furniture manufacturers in Caraga participated in Cebu X International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition, held in Cebu last March 2-10, 2008, under APFTI’s Fair Trade Zone.
With the increasing popularity of Cebu’s furniture industry, international buyers have been regularly congregating in this annual event organized by the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation, Inc (CFIF). This year’s buyer turnout, for example, exceeded expectations with over 1500 people from 78 countries, attending the event.
In preparation for the show, small-scale woodworkers from Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Norte worked with APFTI’s furniture designers Roberto Tambalo and Federico Nicolas in crafting new designs for furniture, door panels, and woodcrafts out of renewable driftwood, gmelina, lawaan, cocowood and cocolumber. “Our woodworkers are job-shop based artisans and they have limited production capacity, therefore, the merit and value of the items, which will be sale-able to buyers, should come from the original design and exceptional craftsmanship of their products.” said Tambalo. The challenge, according to him, was to come up with furniture with reproduce-able features that stand out. He added that community woodworkers are meticulous about details, especially on carvings, a characteristic that compensates the inadequacies in equipment and longer periods of production.
Training on “Strategic Marketing” was also provided, last February 18-22, 2008, to ensure that the producers, by themselves, could close deals during the fair. The training tackled negotiation techniques and marketing strategies suitable for small-scale manufacturers.
APFTI’s Fair Trade Zone generated P 6, 110,050.00 in cash and negotiated sales. The Caraga batch is composed of: Prime Pacific Ventures, Timber Woodcraft Furniture, JB Home Center and Lumber Dealer, Green Valley Furniture, Mindanao New Hope, Wild Trends Inc., San Luis Rattan Furniture Makers, Rayda Woodcrafts, Ethnic Wood, GA Woodcraft and Morning Star Industries. Meanwhile, candle maker, Callo Candles from Butuan City, provided candles that accentuated the displays.
New batch of Northern Mindanao producers starts with APFTI programs
Forty-eight (48) food and crafts enterprises in Northern Mindanao showed readiness in practicing and promoting the standards of Fair Trade by taking part on APFTI’s Integrated Enterprise Development and In-Depth Coaching (IN-DEPTH) Programs.
APFTI Executive Director Rommel Agustin formalized these new partnerships through the signing of Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) with partner producers and officials from the regional and provincial offices of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on January 15, 2007, at De Luxe Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City. In his message, Mr. Agustin emphasized the need for public, private and non-profit sectors to integrate and complement each other’s programs and actions in order to maximize resources and likewise, improve the impact of their efforts to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. “Fair Trade completely debunks the idea that a business entity could thrive in its own untouchable sphere and set its own unbreakable rules,” he said.
APFTI extended its Integrated Enterprise Development Program (IEDP) to 33 producers, and the In-depth Coaching Program (IN-DEPTH), to 15 producers in the food and handicrafts sector.
APFTI adopts a holistic approach to enterprise development as it attempts to incorporate the standards of Fair Trade to the enterprises’ operations while addressing the concerns of capacity building, product development and market access. “We call this Fair Trade, an understanding that viability is always tied up to the principles of social and environmental responsibility,” explained Mr. Agustin. The producers expressed their willingness to undergo a cooperative enterprise development process. Reliant on the region’s remarkable natural resources, food and crafts producers showed interest in instituting measures that can further systematize their supply chains. Mr. Agustin emphasized that raw material suppliers, producers, distributors, retailers, support-organizations and policy-making bodies must work towards the agenda of stimulating local-level production and consumption. “The objective is not just to create a tactical cluster of assorted businesses, with varied goals, that are completely unconcerned and isolated from each other. We want to build synergy and to create unity in purpose and goals among community enterprises.”
As an initial activity, APFTI technical supervisor Vads Betonio and In-house designer Rafael Ramos visited the producers and assessed their products
Northern Mindanao has a promising crafts industry, with products such as: musical instruments, tribal bags, house ware, baskets, fashion accessories, decors, paper and ropes. The food sector also shows a lot of potential, with organic and value-added goods like muscovado sugar, cavendish banana, herbal tea, and vegetable-based pastries and noodles.
APFTI producers showcase goods in Kaamulan Festival
APFTI’s Northern Mindanao partner producers opted to celebrate the annual Kaamulan Festival by consolidating their products in a booth that also promoted the principles of Fair Trade to locals and festival visitors. Held every February and March, Kaamulan has been declared as the regional festival of Northern Mindanao and it also marks the foundation day of the province of Bukidnon.
Twenty-two food and crafts producers participated in a Fair Trade booth in a month-long Agri-fair held at the Kaamulan Grounds in Malaybalay from February.18 to March 10, 2008. APFTI producers registered a total retail sale of P1,804,722.00. Pasalubong items like fresh fruits and native delicacies got the biggest attention especially among balikbayans who had flocked the event.
Producers attend trainings on strategic marketing
APFTI held trainings on “Strategic Marketing” in Sorsogon and Antique for its partner-producers enrolled under the Integrated Enterprise Development Program (IEDP). Antique producers participated in a two-day training held on January 16-18, 2008, in San Jose, Antique. Sorsogon producers, on the other hand, attended the same course on January 30-31, 2008, in Sorsogon, Sorsogon.
The course tackled the importance of creating a marketing plan attuned with the business direction of the enterprise. “In today's very competitive marketplace a strategy that ensures consistency in offering a product in a way that it will level off or outsell the competition, is critical,” said Julie Odra, APFTI’s marketing consultant. She said that it is important to complement these general goals with methodologies outlining the day-to-day processes of the enterprise.
Using structured and participatory approaches, the training challenged the participants to make plans that will fit the capacity and capability of their enterprise. With small-scale and labor-intensive production processes, the training emphasized the need to adopt a differentiation strategy that will establish a market niche for the products and brands of small producers. The strategy should highlight the products’ distinct composition and quality.
Antique producers are making muscovado-sugar based products like bandi, bitso-bitso, polvoron, ginger chews, banana chips, banana balls, and butong-butong; some are also into vegetable-based value added food like, sayote and squash candy. The province is also home to traditional crafts like hand-woven cloth, buri bags, clay jars, bricks, placemats and hats. Sorsogon, on the other hand, has producers who are into pili-based delicacies and abaca-based crafts.
APFTI teaches “Accounting for Non-Accountants” to Catanduanes producers
Catanduanes producers participated in a 2-day training on basic accounting provided by APFTI for its partner producers undergoing the Integrated Enterprise Development Program (IEDP). Held on February 6-8 at Virac, Catanduanes, 26 participants from the food and crafts sectors attended the training.
The course utilized hands-on methodologies that simplify accounting techniques in a manner that small business owners can translate their actual sales transactions and cash flows to financial documents that will further allow them to effectively control and manage their finances and resources.
APFTI personnel undergo gender and sexuality training
In line with the organization’s agenda to “gender-sensitize” its structure, processes, programs and services, APFTI program staff underwent a 3-day gender and sexuality training on January 21-23, 2008, in Baguio City. Subscribing to the framework of Gender and Development (GAD) the organization recognizes that making the programs sensitive and responsive to the needs and wants of women and men can make the developmental efforts of the organization more people-centered. The gender and sexuality training discussed misconceptions, beliefs and issues about women and men, and their implications to the socio-economic and political status of individuals and communities. The workshop also reviewed the human resources development manual of the organization, and diagnosed its provisions on non-discrimination and gender-related processes and benefits.
Fair Trade advocacy and awareness reinforced in enterprise programs
For the quarter, APFTI conducted Fair Trade colloquia and advisories to producers, onset the delivery of the enterprise development programs in the provinces of Sorsogon, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Capiz and General Santos City.
The initial orientation, called Fair Trade Colloquium introduces the concept and standards of Fair Trade to prospective clients prior to the submission of application to the Integrated Enterprise Development Program (IEDP). Using participatory processes, the course solicits responses from producers on issues espoused by the advocacy, highlights the benefits and responsibilities associated with it, and secures their commitment in adhering to the standards of Fair Trade. New batches of producers in Sorsogon and Caraga signified their intention to enroll in the program. For Capiz, 21 producers showed interest to enroll in the program and be involved in the advocacy.
Producers who have chosen to enroll in the program also take up a Fair Trade Advisory Course. The advisory details examples on how producers can practice the principles and integrate the standards to their day-to-day operations. It highlights the need to enhance their leadership skills in order to effectively set the business and marketing direction of their enterprise.
Fair Trade advocacy and awareness reinforced in enterprise programs
For the quarter, APFTI conducted Fair Trade colloquia and advisories to producers, onset the delivery of the enterprise development programs in the provinces of Sorsogon, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Capiz and General Santos City.
The initial orientation, called Fair Trade Colloquium introduces the concept and standards of Fair Trade to prospective clients prior to the submission of application to the Integrated Enterprise Development Program (IEDP). Using participatory processes, the course solicits responses from producers on issues espoused by the advocacy, highlights the benefits and responsibilities associated with it, and secures their commitment in adhering to the standards of Fair Trade. New batches of producers in Sorsogon and Caraga signified their intention to enroll in the program. For Capiz, 21 producers showed interest to enroll in the program and be involved in the advocacy.
Producers who have chosen to enroll in the program also take up a Fair Trade Advisory Course. The advisory details examples on how producers can practice the principles and integrate the standards to their day-to-day operations. It highlights the need to enhance their leadership skills in order to effectively set the business and marketing direction of their enterprise.
Antique crafts producers modernize product designs
Seven Antique crafts producers underwent product design development this quarter. The project ran from March 2-29, 2008. Senior consultant, Leonardo Rosete and 10-29 designer, Aurorita Bonus handled the project that generated 56 new designs for crafts makers involved in manufacturing semi-precious stone-crafts, accessories, woodcrafts and buri-based handicrafts.
APFTI conducts an on-site design development process that considerably gives attention to the resources and skills of small producers and workers. The designers deployed in the area, consult with clients during the conceptualization of new designs and supervise the construction of new prototypes.
APFTI conducts an on-site design development process that considerably gives attention to the resources and skills of small producers and workers. The designers deployed in the area, consult with clients during the conceptualization of new designs and supervise the construction of new prototypes.
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