How Burt’s Bees helped a barrio see the light

MANILA, Philippines - We could hear the program host through the sound system even before we reached the clearing outside the Badang Elementary School where the program was held. We saw Elvira Wanget of the daycare center and a DSWD volunteer using a microphone to announce our arrival. You’d think there’s nothing unusual about that, except that the sound system was powered by solar energy.

Sitio Badang comprises a community of 44 families, living in a mountain area in Sudipen near the boundary of La Union and Ilocos Sur. It is so remote, it is not yet reached by electricity. Residents have to go down to the town center, seven kilometers away, just to charge their cell phones.

But a welcome change is taking place. Late last year, with funding raised from Beauty Bar’s Burt’s Bees “Bee a Gift of Light” project, Adtel Inc., which is engaged in telecommunications technologies and renewable energy, installed four compact generators powered by energy collected from the sun for use in the Badang elementary school, the church and community hall.

Adtel makes its presence mostly in off-grid areas not reached by electric companies and cooperatives, Reymond “Jap” Batara, assistant vice president of Adtel renewable energy division, explained. Instead of “electrifying,” he would rather say that they are “energizing” the underserved households in the countryside, with the end to provide four basic services — light, communication, education, and entertainment.

The residents of Badang, one of the most remote sitios of Sudipen in La Union, are mostly root crop farmers who supply The Good Shepherd of Baguio with organic ube for making their bestselling bottled ube jam. It was through The Good Shepherd that Adtel made contact with Sitio Badang. They are the first community in Sudipen to be given the compact solar-powered generators, Magdalena Par-Ogan of The Good Shepherd noted.

Marlene Oler, one of only three teachers at the Badang Elementary School, delivered the welcome remarks during the ceremonial turnover which was held under a makeshift tent outside the school. They also received a TV set and DVD player that could serve as teaching aids as well. “Our children’s knowledge need to be updated,” another teacher, Lucrecia Moral, remarked.

Even the children at the day care center learned how the TV was powered by energy collected from the sun, Wanget related. Their awareness was no longer confined within the four corners of their classroom. The TV also provides entertainment, not only for the students but also for the elders in the community. It was their first time ever to watch TV.

“Lubos ang aming kaligayahan,” said Grade 4 class president, Christine Joy Kudan, who delivered a tearful testimony. Before, she said, by 3 p.m., they could no longer see what they were writing. In the forested area where their two-classroom school is located, darkness descends early, it seems. Last December, for the first time, they held their Christmas program at night. For the first time, “natamasa naming ang liwanag sa sitio,” she said.

“Sana madagdagan,” said Ruben Bacdangan, a local church leader, who expressed their collective wish to receive more solar powered generators, to light “not only the church but also every house.” Barangay secretary Eduardo Sarmiento who also happened to be the valiant and expert driver of the jeepney which we rode to and from Badang, echoed the same sentiment. After conveying the community’s utmost gratitude for the unexpected gift, he hoped that in 2013, every house in the sitio will also have light.

In her response, Mai Estrella, associate product manager of Burt’s Bees, who was with the team that brought the first solar-powered generators to Sitio Badang in October 2012, said, “We did not leave you. We have returned.”                                                                                    

“Hindi biro itong regalo, at hindi din biro ang pagpunta nila dito,” Magda Par-Ogan remarked, alluding to the arduous journey the team took to reach the remote mountain sitio.

Not counting the six-hour land trip by van from Manila to La Union, it took over three hours of bumpy jeepney ride from the St. Christopher Church in Bangar to Sitio Badang in Sudipen, over paved roads, dirt roads, and then no roads at all. The trip also involved several jittery river crossings; negotiating a single bamboo pole foot bridge; a raft ride; climbing rough stone steps carved on the mountain; then a steep climb all the way down, back to the jeepney that was waiting for us on the dry river bed of boulders, rocks and river stones.   

The lighting of the houses in Sitio Badang will be the second phase of the program, Reena Rosario, merchandise group manager for SSI’s Beauty Bar, explained. For every Burt’s Bees product that you buy, P10 goes to the fund for this purpose. Burt’s Bees products, which are exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) of the Rustan’s group of companies, are available at all Beauty Bar stores.

Burt’s Bees is one of the first brands in the market with products made from natural ingredients, long before natural became fashionable. Introduced in the Philippines in 2001 through Beauty Bar, today it remains one of the top sellers among the store chain’s multi-brand offering. Its bestselling personal care products include its very popular lip balms, shimmers, gloss and colors.

The residents of Sitio Badang may never have heard of Beauty Bar or Burt’s Bees for that matter, although they would find certain products useful if they did, such as Burt’s Bees herbal insect repellent, Burt’s Bees bug bite relief, and Res Q ointment to revive tired muscles. But Burt’s Bees “A Gift of Light” campaign is not simply about selling products but about social responsibility, about helping a community and fulfilling a mission. For the residents of Sitio Badang in La Union, it is about realizing a dream. It is about seeing the light.