Bataan bamboo product maker gets biggest DTI grant

BAGAC, Bataan – Engineered bamboo products from Bataan are now seen to enter the competitive Philippine market as a community-based group from this mountainous town received the biggest grant from Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the provincial government recently.

Owning a land previously idle and its members dependent on manual labor for income, the Banawang Mamamayan Sagip Kalikasan Inc. (MASAGKA) now has a working center and advanced machineries to manufacture products out of the erstwhile overlooked bamboos in their area.

The 82-member group, which also serves as forest caretaker, is starting to create unique bamboo items using various machineries all worth P2.1 million given through DTI’s Shared Service Facility (SSF), a project that provides processing machines to boost business productivity for accredited entrepreneurial organizations.

“There are already orders, from a shipbuilder, of laminated bamboo dividers the size of plywoods that will be used for division in the ship,” MASAGKA President Primitivo Bantugan said. The 66-year-old farmer added the Department of Education has ordered bamboo-made tables and chairs.

Now, Bantugan is looking forward to create bamboo tiles, walling design, door and other housing components and home furnishings. “Our vision is very fruitful because not only the members will have income from this center, also the non-members. Many are hoping for this. That our lives will get better,” the father of four said.

DTI-Bataan provided 19 equipment and machines to MASAGKA including the kiln dryer, planers, ripsaw, pole cutters and molders in its biggest SSF project for the year.

For its part, the provincial government of Bataan led by Governor Albert Garcia shelled out almost P8 million to build a 500-square-meter working center with high fence for the lone bamboo-product manufacturer of the province.

Bantugan disclosed that the governor will also provide for the construction of another building which will serve as product showroom. The electric connection of the center was installed through the help of the local government unit of Bagac, led by Mayor Ramil Del Rosario, which shouldered the P200,000 cost of materials and labor. Bantugan said Del Rosario is planning to stop the delivery of bamboos outside Bagac to augment the supply of the MASAGKA center.

DTI-Bataan head Nelin Cabahug hailed this project as a convergence of government support for a promising enterprise that maximizes the market potential of local resources, leading to community livelihood and development.

“The SSF project does not only revolve around the providing machineries. It is a catalyst of evolution for local businesses for them to be able to ride along the inclusive growth in the country. It is hard to find qualified organizations, but we will continue looking for them and give the help the government provides,” said Cabahug.