A commitment to quality is a pledge that the CCAP has taken to achieve and convey to all the individual entrepreneurs and organizations that manufacture and supply its handcrafted products. While there had been rare instances when buyers had been less than satisfied with the products they received, we consider these occasions as important experiences whose lessons outweighed whatever material losses it brought.

Convincing our producers that they had to follow to the letter the CCAP standards of quality, in terms of material and design in the products they made, was initially frustrating. There were times when we thought we were communicating in different languages. We also felt that maybe, we were being perceived as incessant naggers.

But as the considerable benefits that was gained by maintaining product quality resulted in appreciative buyers and continuing orders, the message slowly sank in.

Now we are singing a different tune. It is one that says that every handicraft worker and supplier require from himself and his co-workers a passion for quality, a pride in his work and in his product because it not only brings him the means to feed his family but through his skill and craftsmanship, brings pleasure to others. The value of valuing quality and excellence, of maintaining quality as a tradition, is what we wish to be the norm of doing in our suppliers and craftworkers.

At CCAP, every piece of handicraft goes through a two-step quality assurance process. The first is done by the producer-suppliers themselves, before a piece of handicraft is transported to CCAP central warehouse; the second is made within the CCAP quality control department where final inspection, evaluation and processing is made before a product is sent to its foreign destination.

The CCAP Quality Team

The five-member CCAP quality control team share an average of 10 years of rigorous training and experience in product quality assurance and management among them. Their remarkable ability to detect product flaws and deficiencies, their attention to detail, and the meticulous care they take to ensure that each piece of handicraft carries the CCAP seal of excellence has been uncompromising and unfailingly and assiduously maintained.

If we are proud of every piece we produce, we are just as proud of the people who ensure that our pledge to excellence is maintained. From the skilled hands of our suppliers, to the dedication of our quality control team and the meticulous attention of our finishers, they complete and compliment the goal of quality that CCAP maintains and commits to every product it makes.

They design quality, they craft art

Designing is not only a creative and an artistic process. It is an exacting profession that requires the highest standards of flair, grace, elegance, and elan from the end product that, while well appreciated in handicraft design, is considered at best and embellishment to the fundamental characteristic of handicraft designing - the ability to innovate, to have an original approach in the sue and fabrication of naturally occurring materials that will adopt to current tastes and lifestyles.

CCAP is aware of the rapidly shifting trends in the market and recognizes the constant but increasing demands of the buyer for high quality products and fine craftsmanship. While we have instituted continuing production quality assurance training as part of our community development programs, the special and challenging requirements for up-to-date, market responsive designs is a matter of deep concern for CCAP.

We are fortunate to have access to an abundant resources of designing and artistic talent whose innate creativity have been further refined by training and extensive experience. They bring with them superior capabilities as well as the best lessons they have derived from their varied exposure to different design experiences. We have thus reaped the benefits of their genius and dedication to their craft.

But while the designers are the central players to creating and applying a design to a particular material, the CCAP works in close collaboration with the designer and actively participates in the design process through its marketing and community development groups.

Inputs essential to product design - pricing, material, sourcing, buyer behavior and taste - which have been shared by the marketing and community development groups have enhanced the designers perspective and have resulted in a clearer and productive design process.

The CCAP has been nominated for best product design during three consecutive F.A.M.E. shows, in October 1998 and April and October 1999 - tangible recognition and acknowledgement of the design standards the CCAP maintains through its designers.

Approximating our buyers' idea of a well-designed product is an intricate and tough challenge we try our best to tackle. Sometimes we use instinct, oftentimes we depend on observation and research. In all these the consideration of what original design approach to use that will move the buyer to want to own the executed designs is our guide and our song.

As springboard to the Product Development Workshop held on April 17 and 18, 46 producers coming from 14 groups were given exposure to the April Manila FAME show and nine houseware/furniture shops at the SM Megamall.

Day 1 of the workshop tackled Market Direction Input where the representatives were given pointers on how to observe the exhibits. To gain maximum coverage in visiting booths, they were also organized into three groups with one team leader each. Day 2 was their visit to the shows and as observer-delegates, it is hoped that these shows would be able to:

 1. Provide the producers the much-needed exposure to quality products made for the international market;
 2. Stimulate their imagination into utilising locally-available materials from their own communities into creating similar quality and functional products; and
 3. Transform their visual experience and exposure into meaningful and relevant design blueprints in preparation for the October FAME show.

It is true producing quality crafts takes enormous amounts of skill and creativity. But, largely it also thrives on imagination. Without organized activities such as exposures and workshops, imaginations are left unstimulated, unfed and unnurtured. After all, what cuts through to the heart of fair trading is positioning in the international market which is a matter of producing quality-made products reasonably priced benefiting not only the client-buyer but also the producer-maker.

The CCAP launched its pilot village-level symposia on March 26, 1999 at the Sison Municipal Hall, home of Riverside Basket Producers Association, CCAP's biggest partner producer group in Pangasinan.

The symposium dubbed "Kapihan sa Barangay" (loosely, coffee time in the village), tackled the theme, "Anong Hinaharap ng Basket Industry sa Ating Barangay" (What are the prospects of the basket industry in our village?). The symposium intended to bring together and get various sectors/key players talking about concerns relevant to handicraft producers.

The discussion revolved around the current export trends in handicrafts (both at the national and provincial levels), the difficulties faced by producers and the opportunities available to them. The exchanges took off from the observation that while a percentage of the residents of Asan Sur live on handicrafts, the sector is almost invisible in the socioeconomic profile of the village and the town. The symposium also tried to trace and relive the colorful past of the handicraft industry in Pangasinan.

Inadequate capital, lack of marketing assistance, threatened supply of raw materials (specifically rattan) and problematic attitude among artisans (i.e., manana habit ) surfaced as some of the major problems. On the other hand, diversification to bamboo crafts (from rattan) cropped up as a welcome opportunity for the producers.

Participants in the symposium included: the town mayor of Sison, the Asan Sur barangay council (led by the village head), a representative from the provincial department of Environment and Natural Resources, pioneering artisans from neighboring towns, members of the Riverside Basket producers Association and other CCAP partner-producers in Pangasinan. Fairly-traded coffee from OXFAM-GB was served. The symposium ended with a symbolic signing of a pledge of commitment from the attendees to support the handicraft industry.

Two formal training activities were launched for CCAP-organized producer groups in Pangasinan and Bicol. A Financial Management Training was conducted for Pangasinan producers on November 22, 1999; while a Project Management Training was organized for Bicol groups on February 12 to 13, 1999.

The Financial Management Training tackled simple accounting and bookkeeping principles, cashiering, budgeting, controlling and setting up of financial policies for the organization. During the training, problem areas with financial management of the producer associations were raised and addressed. The trainee-participants brought home with them skills in single-entry bookkeeping.

The Project Management Training, on the other hand, included discussions on the functions of management, with special focus on financial management and leadership.

CCAP's capability-building program for producers is not limited to formal training activities. Since last year, CCAP has been sponsoring producer-market consultations (consultation between its partner producers and its marketing personnel) to address the problems encountered in the trading transactions with CCAP. The consultations are also aimed at enhancing the producers' negotiating and dialoguing skills.

Product development workshops were undertaken with the producers. CCAP's product designers visited the producers in their communities, at times meeting with those in contiguous areas together, to design and develop with them new products. Design trends are also relayed to producers during these informal sessions.

Noting the common weakness among CCAP-organized producer groups for systematic and longer-term planning of their activities as an organization, CCAP facilitated planning sessions among the producer groups. The planning sessions which also gave breadth to an earlier training in planning as a function of management, helped provide direction to the groups' activities and is weaning them away from being purchase-order-oriented.

Twice a year, CCAP sponsors and facilitates the exposure of producers to the Manila FAME International Trade Show at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. The exposure is aimed at enhancing the producers' appreciation of product development's role in increasing their sales; and providing the producers some insights into design and market trends.

Apart from these capability-building activities, nothing beats the continuing hands-on trouble-shooting and guidance on managing their organizations provided by CCAP's community development officers.