There is Hope in Daing is a livelihood intervention and social enterprise that aims to empower and equip fisherfolks of Barangay Banah, Tipo-Tipo, Basilan through skills training on dried fish production to increase their income and uplift the social and economic well-being of the community.
The poverty threshold in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is PH₱ 7,000 per month. In Barangay Banah, 92 per cent of indigenous people (IP) households are earning an average monthly income of PH₱ 3,000. Way below the threshold, this is just enough to feed a household of five with rice and cassava three times a day. Households are also dependent on a single source of income. Eighty per cent of IP mothers are not involved in any form of livelihood activity.
The There is Hope in Daing social enterprise intends to increase the income of the IP households in Barangay Banah through dried fish production. The social enterprise has initially selected ten fisherfolks from the Sama-Badjao indigenous group as their target beneficiaries. Indicators such as socio-economic status, skills, attitude and commitment were used as criteria to determine the target beneficiaries. They will be formed into a cooperative and undergo training on entrepreneurial, organisational, operational and financial management. Fishing boats will also be provided to increase their yield.
The social enterprise also intends to scale up the project to involve the mothers in the livelihood intervention. As the fisherfolks focus on catching fishes, mothers will be trained on processing fresh fish. Facilities such as solar dryers and sealers will be purchased to comply with food safety and sanitation standards. This intervention is projected to raise the community’s household revenue to PH₱ 7,000 per day.