Leyte's Mamanwa tribe members undergo agri training

TACLOBAN CITY, April 20  -- Farmers in the upland village of Villaconzoilo in Jaro, Leyte hiked to the remotest village in Leyte to train the Mamanwa tribes on high value crops cultivation.

The 10-day training, which started Monday, is expected to change Mamanwa’s way of living from hunting food in the wild to cultivating high value vegetables within the neighborhood.

“The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) sent us to Kagbana village to impart our skills in the production of organically-grown high value vegetables,” said Villaconzoilo village chief Alex Aborita in a mobile phone interview Friday.

More than 50 tribe members will join the training provided with allowance and farming tool kits.

The activity is backed by the provincial government considering that Kagbana village in Burauen, Leyte has been tagged as priority area for farming.

Kagbana is the most remote community in Leyte. The settlement, located in the mountain range of central Leyte, is about 40 kilometers away from the town center.

It can be reached through a one-hour motorcycle ride traversing bumpy roads and three hours hike. You need to cross four mountains and three rivers.

The village is home to 500 dwellers with 60 households, including the seven families of Mamanwa tribe.
With this training, Aborita is upbeat that the tribe members will follow the footsteps of Villaconzoilo in ending poverty in its community.

Villaconzoilo village is the pilot site for integrated and diversified organic farming approach, an initiative that has already expanded to more than 100 villages last year.

From the start-up capital of PHP1,800 contributed by members, the Villaconzoilo Community Association’s asset increased to more than PHP25 million with more than PHP4 million cash in the bank.

The group owns 20 hectares of land for their high value crops, fruit-bearing trees plantation, piggery and egg production.

From producing high-value crops and supplying their products to big groceries, hotels and malls in Tacloban City and other parts of Leyte province, Villaconzoilo expanded their operation to farm-tourism in 2016, generating additional income from entrance fee.

The organization also runs a school for practical farming accredited by TESDA.

Since 2017, the organization has trained about 500 individuals, mostly TESDA scholars. (SQM/PNA)