Sharing skills

What a difference a year makes!

After successfully launching its first kiosk in Powerplant Mall in Makati last year, the Meralco Dependents Livelihood Multipurpose Cooperative is stretching its wings to take other Meralco dependents under its care.

MDLMC was founded in February last year by a group of Meralco employee dependents – mostly housewives – who have completed at least one livelihood course which the company offered for free to spouses, children, parents and other family members of Meralco employees to give them additional skills that would help augment their family income. The livelihood courses range from candle making and flower arrangement to meat processing. The group’s first big project was a stall in Power Plant Mall called Home Front where shoppers could buy an assortment of products made by coop members at very affordable prices.

Home Front has been doing well since it opened. More than the added income, it has also given members of MDLMC more confidence in themselves and more room to express their creativity. Aside from the bead accessories they have been selling like bracelets, necklaces, eyeglass holders and key chains, members now also make ID lace holders, beaded purse and bags, pen holders, scented and decorative candles, hand and body liquid soap, bath soaps and even linens. They also developed new friendship with their co-members.

"Aside from the monetary benefits, the coop gave us a reason to develop our creativity, our entrepreneurial skills. More importantly for most of the members, the coop really boosted their confidence in their own talents and abilities," said MDLMC chairman Merle Martinez.

Starting Aug. 15, Home Front will be showcasing a specific product line or two-week periods. Those already in the pipeline are capiz products, porcelain, products and home decors. The coop also has a monthly payday sale and quarterly tiangge in Meralco.

Free Training

Not wanting to keep a good thing to themselves, the coop members have also been conducting free livelihood trainings for other Meralco dependents who did not have the chance to participate in the ones offered by the company. And so was born the seminar series "Dagdag Kaalamang Pangkabuhayan" (A Livelihood Capacity Building Training). With the support of Meralco’s Corporate Social Responsibility Office, the seminar series was launched at the 7th Meralco housing project in Marilao, Bulacan. More than 50 Meralco dependents and retirees joined the first three modules on basic and advanced meat processing, candle making and bead art making.

"This has been a long time dream of the coop members – to be able to share the skills they learned with other Meralco dependents," says MDLMC project coordinator Baby Deyto. "The participants were very thankful to have a livelihood skills training within their village and they were all very eager to learn. They don’t often get opportunities like this where they can attend a seminar for free and they don’t have to go far or enroll in a school. It is conducted right there in their village."

The participants are also encouraged to join the coop after completing at least one seminar module, so they can reap more benefits from the livelihood seminars.

"More opportunities will be opened to them if they join the coop," said Deyto. "They can learn more skills and business strategies from the other members. They already have an assured market for their products. Of course, it goes without saying that they will also make new friends and have that sense of belonging to a group with common goals and aspirations."