DTI 12 opens 'Tsokokapeteria' in Koronadal City

KORONADAL CITY — The Department of Trade and Industry 12 had set up a coffee shop with a “pasalubong center” in Koronadal City as a showcase of commercial goods produced by community enterprises in central Mindanao.

Located in DTI 12’s main office at the regional center in the Carpenter Hill area in Koronadal City, the TsokoKapetearia, launched early this week, was supposed to start operating three years ago but was deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senior officials of DTI 12 separately told reporters on Thursday that besides serving premium quality coffee and other beverages, the café also has other merchandise on display, produced by local Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, or MSMEs, in Region 12, that customers can buy at low prices.

Region 12 covers the cities of Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal, and General Santos and the provinces of Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato, and Sarangani, that have hinterlands planted with Arabica, Excelsa and Robusta coffee species, whose propagators the DTI 12 and the Department of Agriculture 12 are helping connect to markets outside.

The DTI 12 has continuing capacity-building programs for MSMEs, supported by the Regional Development Council 12.

The Tsokokapetearia was inaugurated by the director of DTI 12, Flora Gabunales, Koronadal City Mayor Eliordo Ogena, representatives from the region’s business sector and the retired Army general Joselito Kakilala, who is chairperson of the economic development committee of the RDC 12.

“We capacitate them (MSMEs) to become self-reliant and agents of social change. The pinnacle of these activities is seeing their products become ready for extensive marketing, as delectable food items, stylish wearables and home style products of Region 12,” Gabunales said.

In a statement Thursday, Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño Mendoza, presiding chairperson of the multi-sector, inter-agency RDC 12, said that she will encourage the DTI 12 to also establish TsokoKapetearia outlets in other provinces in the region that its provincial offices can manage.

“We in RDC are keen on promoting MSMEs and barangay-level trades and crafts through technical interventions,” Mendoza said.