Agusan Del Sur brims with opportunities for the youth, women, and communities in agriculture, forestry, and natural resources. Situated within the northeastern region in Mindanao, the province produces agricultural products such as rice, corn, banana, and palm oil that is unique to Trento, a first-class municipality with an estimated population of 50,000 people.

Community members at the Federation of Trento Manobo Tribal Council (FETREMTCO), led by Remelita “Bae Tata” Blanco, used to sell palm oil and native products in their barangay and adjacent municipalities. But everything changed when the Philippines was placed under community quarantine last March 2020.

“The palm oil plantation filed for bankruptcy. Seven hundred workers, mostly from Trento, had been displaced and retrenched. Access to food, mostly meat produce, was difficult and expensive. It was disheartening. Palm oil and its by-products are our main source of income. Now it is gone. We struggled and even if we wanted to go out, we could not,” Bae Tata said.

That's why Bae Tata could hardly believe the news that FETREMTCO was selected as one of the beneficiaries of WONDER. For her, the opportunity could help rebuild their lives and empower them amid the pandemic.

“When UNDP contacted us (FETREMTCO), we were overwhelmed. You know, Manobos are known to be simple and a bit timid. Most of us didn’t finish high school and couldn’t afford a college education. But with WONDER, there is now an opportunity to be trained and hone our skills. Usually the trainings are in Luzon and in big cities like Metro Manila, Cebu, or Davao. Of all people, we were chosen. We can never thank UNDP enough for helping us,” she said.

To empower women and women-led groups in the most vulnerable communities in the Philippines, WONDER has chosen FETREMTCO for an initiative that will support them in transforming their businesses and going online. A series of two-week digitalization and capability building trainings were facilitated to equip and educate them so they can upgrade their skills in digital platforms and online selling.

Bae Tata shared, “We didn’t have a Facebook account for our products before! I didn’t know what Shopee was until we learned it from the training. Now you can reach us through FETREMCO Native Products Enterprise on Facebook. Our e-commerce shop is underway. We’re still reviewing the modules since they're readily available online. Our youth members who dropped out of school are of great help since they are adept in social media.”

“We envision success when we’re focused and we are dedicated. We’re excited about the outcome. Our group is so thankful for the training. This will help both the youth and women groups who are in the process of rebuilding and growing our small enterprise. With WONDER, we know that we can thrive,” she added.

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