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PHILIPPINES: Like Men, Women Aim to Put Food on the Table

Stephen de Tarczynski

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines, Oct 9 2009 (IPS) - Despite experiencing an unsuccessful first foray into the world of commerce, the members of the Canduman Women's Co-operative (CWC) remain focused on producing a profit to aid their families' day-to-day living expenses.

Even the small amount of money that CWC's members take home has been beneficial. Credit: Stephen de Tarczynski/IPS

Even the small amount of money that CWC's members take home has been beneficial. Credit: Stephen de Tarczynski/IPS

Established in September 2008, the women-only CWC began operations in February this year, manufacturing small "rugs" – multilayered cleaning cloths commonly used in Philippine households, offices and vehicles.

The co-op, based in a small building in Canduman Haven – located about 30 minutes drive from the centre of Mandaue City – is aimed at alleviating some of the residents' financial hardship.. Mandaue is a resettlement site for families displaced by development in nearby Cebu City

Rowena Alensonorin, executive director of the Centre for Integrated Development at the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI), which is assisting the co-op, says the idea for a rug making venture in order to supplement their husband’s income was spawned at a meeting she called with local women in 2007.

The co-operative, with financial and practical assistance from RAFI and others, including Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and Canduman’s local government unit, started out with seven sewing machines and an initial capital of 15,000 pesos (320 dollars).

But in what has proven to be part of a steep learning curve for CWC's 15 members, the initial idea of rug making has fallen short of expectations.


In fact, the enterprise has been operating at a loss. The rags are sold for just one peso each and do not cover the cost of production as 5 kgs of raw material – from which 101 rugs are made – cost 175 pesos (one dollars is roughly 46 pesos).

While such an outcome may make some cut their losses and lose hope, the women of the CWC appear only to be looking forward.

The co-op's president, Jennifer Ferraren, who lives in the adjacent Kobe resettlement zone along with several other members, says the women are looking to diversify their production. Carry bags made from recycled drink containers and dress making are just two possibilities being considered.

Ferraren argues that the co-op is about more than generating additional income for the members' families. With gambling among female residents a common pastime, she says that the CWC's "focus is not just on their livelihoods but also on their social lives."

Even the small amount of money that the CWC's members have been able to take home so far has been beneficial.

CWC member Rosalinda Tacay told IPS that being financially rewarded "makes me realise that working with this co-operative can help our husbands with expenses," while another member, the recently-married Flordeluna Amaro, agrees.

Both women say that their husbands support their involvement in the co-op. Approval by the husband is particularly important within Philippine families, especially among the lower socio-economic classes where the man's will often prevails.

CWC president Ferraren, a commerce graduate, says that while her husband also supports her participation in the co-op, her other responsibilities must not be overlooked.

"He said 'it's okay as long as you manage your time so as not to neglect the children'," says the mother of three.

According to Ferraren, most of the members' husbands have been encouraging.

Alensonorin from RAFI agrees that the majority of men are "very supportive". But she adds that traditional Filipino familial gender attitudes, whereby "women stay in the house while their husbands go out to work", have fuelled a backlash in some instances.

She has heard from several "women who report that their husbands get mad [and ask] why are they spending their time in the co-op? Why don’t they stay at home? Who cares for the children?"

Alensonorin admits that in these cases the members' involvement in the co-op "becomes even a cause of conflict and quarrel in the household."

But she argues that household conflict stemming from this is small compared to that caused by want. "Most of the time the lack of money, the lack of food or the lack of income to provide for the family becomes the number one source of quarrels among husbands and wives," she says.

Husbands who may have previously opposed their wife's involvement in the co-op can see the benefits that extra income can make, says Alensonorin. She argues that this indicates that women's participation in the CWC can also result in an educational process for men.

"When income is added into the family [budget] food is put on the table and it creates harmony. That's where the husband now understands," she says.

And if the co-op's expansion plans are realised and bear financial fruit then conflict within the family, in addition to related hunger pangs, is likely to be reduced.

Ferraren hopes that family budgets – principally the responsibility of the wife in many Philippine families – will receive a much-needed boost from the CWC's potential operations.

In the future "when we add our income to the income of our husbands maybe we can eat enough to fill our stomachs," she says.

 
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