Coconut-based Women Entrepreneurship Initiative

Dear Friend,

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your generous support to our initiative providing coconut-based women entrepreneurs with assistance. This reporting period we are able to assist a total of 72 women in expanding their coconut-based livelihood activities. Growing coconuts is advantageous for women entrepreneurs because there are a lot of farm-based livelihood activities that can be done, with planting distance of coconuts at 10 meters x 10 meters. The understory can be grown with a lot of other crops as well as they are able to raise small animals like goats, pigs and free-range chicken. There are the livelihood options we are providing to women entrepreneurs with the agreement that they shall pay in kind, for example, offspring of goats that we are able to pass-on to other waiting beneficiaries. Thank you very much for your continuing support to this initiative. 

Very sincerely yours,

Cora Sayre

Dear Friend,

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your generous support to our initiative providing livelihood support for coconut-based women farmers. During this reporting period we are happy to report that the price of copra which is the dried meat of coconuts has gone up and farmers are happy with it. Hoping that this will continue. During this reporting period, we are focusing our attention to the provision of small loans for on-farm livelihood activities and focusing on the beneficiaries to pay in kind which we think is easy for them. We are piloting this approach with 35 women farmers and we hope that this will suceed so that we can expand. Besides this we are preparing to launch a long-term initiative for coconut farmers affected by Super Typhoon Rai last December. Most of those affected are coconut farmers and coconuts have been destroyed. Hoping for your continuing support. Thank you very much.

Very sincerely yours,

Cora

Dear Friend,

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your support to our initiative providing entrepreneurship support for coconut-based women farmers. The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in so much difficulties for farming communities here and this is coupled with low prices of coconut meat which is the main product of the coconuts. Coconut meat is sold as copra or dried coconut meat to oil mills and they are processed into various commercial products. This reporting period we are happy to report that we are able to provide entrepreneurship training to 172 women farmers and aiming to explore and tap opportunities aside from the products of the coconuts. With coconut harvest once only every 3 months there is the need to explore other options for business and profits. Again thank you very much for your kind help to us.

Very sincerely yours,

Cora

Dear Friend,

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your kindness and generosity in supporting our initiative providing entrepreneurship skills and funds to coconut-based women entrepreneurs. This project is very important especially now that the coronavirus pandemic is affecting a lot of people and communities are suffering. The price of coconut meat at present is going up and this is a boon to coconut farmers depending on coconuts and hope that this will continue. In our bid to continue to provide food access to coconut-based women farmers, we focus our attention to providing them with inputs such as vegetable seeds and organic fertilizer. The proliferation of community food pantries is a good sign and we are doing this by providing seeds in various locations where women farmers (as well as men) will be able to get what they need and plant them in their own localities. We have established a total of 8 free vegetable seeds distribution centers and assisted a total of 1,200 farmers already. Hoping for your continuing help in this endeavour. Thank you very much. 

Dear Friend,

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your generous support to our initiative providing entrepreneurship support to coconut-based women and their families. Copra which is the dried meat of coconuts is the main product of coconut farmers and copra is produced mainly for cooking oil with by products used as animal feed. There is stiff competition of copra prices mainly with palm oil and coconut farmers especially women have experienced low prices since 2 years ago already. The need to guide and nurture them to be entrepreneurial assumes much significance. This reporting period we are happy to announce that we have completed the construction of a modest training center wherein local coconut farmers can be trained on entrepreneurship and local livelihoods. We were able to train also our first batch of trainees with small support from the government. We would like to scale-up this effort and train more women within the province of Misamis Oriental where we are located. Hoping for your continuing support.

Very sincerely yours,

Cora Sayre