All 80 barangays in this city will converge at Aurora Park from Sept. 18-20 to showcase their unique products, reach new customers, and promote grassroots enterprise.
In time for the tourism month celebration, the city government, in collaboration with the Liga ng mga Barangay (LNB), is strengthening support for community-based entrepreneurship through the “One Barangay, One Product” (OBOP) initiative, encouraging each barangay to develop and promote products that showcase its unique resources, skills, and local identity.
The program aims to harness the creativity and resources found in communities to create livelihood opportunities and engines of grassroots economic growth.
“Every product displayed here carries a story. It represents the creativity of our local entrepreneurs, handiwork of our farmers and producers, skills of our artisans, and the determination of our barangays to create opportunities for their people,” Roque Benjamin Ablan, president of the city’s LNB, said during the opening of the three-day fair on Friday.
According to Ablan, every barangay has something to offer. Through the OBOP approach, they have a platform to promote their sustainable development programs and reach wider markets.
Featured products include innovative bamboo products and novelty items that highlight bamboo’s potential for business and job creation, as well as handwoven baskets, hats, and other useful, fashionable handicrafts made from water hyacinth.
The exhibit also showcases moringa-based products, such as malunggay powder and malunggay tea, cookie bites, cassava chips, sugarcane vinegar, bagoong, and chili garlic oil, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.
Government agencies supporting the initiative include the departments of trade, labor, and social welfare, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
“This is a very laudable initiative. Fairs like this are very helpful to our local enterprises to expand their market,” provincial trade office director Amelia Galvez said in an interview during the opening.
For many residents, entrepreneurship starts small.
A home kitchen becomes a food-processing enterprise while a traditional craft becomes a marketable product. Farm produce is also transformed into processed goods that fetch higher value.
The One Barangay, One Product initiative provides a framework for communities to make the transition.
By focusing on a signature or priority product, barangays can concentrate their efforts on improving quality, packaging, branding, production, and marketing.
The goal is not merely to create products but to develop enterprises that can survive and grow. (PNA)