The Producers
MAHAPA was set up in 1994 from a supplier-buyer relationship between Mauraro entrepreneur Salve Patriarca and CCAP. With CCAP's thrust of organizing craft producers to spread the benefits of the trading relationship, CCAP fielded a community organizer in Mauraro and convinced Patriarca to give up personal gains in favor of a more "cooperative" set-up - with her workers transformed into co-equal stakeholders in the trading relationship.

The Association started with 28 member families, a great majority of whom are dependent on handicrafts as their main source of livelihood. It has grown in membership, production activities and assets and is now a recognized contributor to the progress of the community. Among the important assets that the association has procured is a second-hand vehicle which is very useful in their handicraft business. They have also established a modest office/center that serves as a meeting place, workshop and storage place of raw materials and finished products before being shipped to Manila. Apart from the growth of the organization, stories of how children were sent to school, houses built renovated, etc. through handicrafts abound among MAHAPA members.

Their Products
The group specializes in abaca angels. It has recently branched out into more functional products and new materials (such as wire frame wrapped in abaca fiber). It is the first in the community to venture into the copper wire knitting which is easier and faster to make.

The Producers
BULHAPA was registered with the government's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 24, 1996. From a group of 12, membership has since expanded to 21. The core of the group is composed of crafts folk that have been producing for a local supplier who had been making profit in the business as a middle man.

Most of the members are living along the road right of way of the provincial road. They do not own the lot on which their houses are built. Most of them are relying on handicraft as the main source of livelihood. Some of the families have small rice farms but the produce could not suffice for the consumption of the family. During lull periods of handicraft work, they work for wages in the rice fields planting or harvesting.

BULHAPA has the signal honor to be the first to put up a modest meeting place of its members and storage of finished products.

Their Products
The main raw material used by this group is the seagrass. Among their products are bottle holders, tom-tom baskets, place mats, trays, boxes, bags, etc.

The Producers
BONLIHAPA was organized at almost the same time as BULHAPA. The core of the organization was a group of workers who were getting orders from a subcontractor who was the first elected president of the group.

Of the three groups in Libon, BONLIHAPA has the lowest volume of sale. It has also the least number of members, only 12 at present.

One advantage the group has, over the other groups in Libon, is its accessibility to a seagrass dryer built in 1997as a joint project among CCAP, BONLIHAPA, BULHAPA and the government's Forest Products Research and Development Institute.

A dyeing equipment was also constructed beside the dryer through the cooperation of the British Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO) and CCAP

Their Products
The products of BONLIHAPA are also seagrass-based and similar to those of BULHAPA. Often, orders are split between the two groups when the volume could not be accomplished in due time by only one group.

The Producers
This group was formed upon the suggestion of the Mayor of Libon and was registered in 1997 with the SEC. The formation had the active participation of village officials led by the barangay captain. Among the three groups in Libon, DELROHAPA is the latest to be organized but obviously more progressive in terms of earnings and membership. Of the Libon seagrass handicraft producers, it has the biggest sales for 1998.

Very recently DELROHAPA has put up a modest place as headquarters where they could meet and hold office. They put this up as a project using the sales rebates they received from CCAP. They also have a dyeing equipment constructed through the assistance of VSO and CCAP.

Their Products
Like the two other groups in Libon, DELROHAPA has also seagrass as the main raw material for their products. The members of the group do not buy their raw materials as other members of the family gather seagrass from the lake nearby which becomes as their supplementary source of income.

The Producers
Registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1996 as non-stock and non-profit corporation, the Riverside Basket Producers Association is now composed of 31 members. Most of them rely on handicraft as their main source of livelihood. During lull periods, however, some members engage in farm work, vegetable vending and casual labor at a nearby cement factory.

The group owns a tricycle it uses for buying raw materials and delivering finished products for shipment to Manila. The tricycle was purchased with the assistance of OXFAM.

Riverside participates in local trade fairs and holds the distinction of being the biggest and most dynamic group organized by CCAP in Pangasinan. Early this year, under CCAP's sales incentive program, Riverside received a substantial amount now being used as additional capital for their production.

Their Products
The products of the group are primarily rattan-based and combined with other indigenous raw materials. They produce a variety of items such as baskets, magazine organizers, planters, trays, and wine holders.

The Producers
Started as a family-based producer group, four families decided to organize themselves as a non-stock and non-profit corporation. The group has since expanded -- yet the members are still related by blood or affinity. Dilan Handicraft Producers Association was duly registered in 1996.

Dilan itself, the village where the group is based, is known for its wide-ranging handicrafts. Pioneers of the industry, dating their involvement to as far back as the 1950s, reside in the village.

The handicraft industry is the main source of livelihood of the members of Dilan Handicraft Producers Association. The group also owns a second-hand tricycle which they conveniently use to buy raw materials and deliver their finished products for shipment to Manila. The tricycle is a grant from OXFAM.

Their Products
The Dilan Basket Producers Association is known for their outstanding skills in basketry. They are famous for producing quality rattan-based products such as hampers and tray. At present, the group is venturing into bamboo crafts production as an alternative to the declining order for rattan-based products.

The Producers
The Bonapal Handicraft Producers Association is composed mostly of women. Highly-skilled weavers as they are, the group has always managed to cope with their orders and deliver ahead of time. As a thriving group, they have procured a piece of land on which they established a handicraft center with the financial assistance from Oxfam.

Other groups, Dilan and Riverside, often seek the assistance of Bonapal for their weaving requirements.

Their Products
The products of the group are mostly rattan-based items ornamented with other high-grade indigenous materials like tilob, rattan split and split buri. Aside from assorted picnic baskets, the group is known also for producing quality magazine organizers, trays planters, hampers and the popular toy chest.

The Producers
URBACPA is the latest group organized in the province of Pangasinan. Located in a remote barrio in Urbiztondo (it is a village where bamboo abound), the group was producing bamboo furniture for local market. Under this situation, most of the members have been relying on middle marketing channels. With the introduction of product and organizational development interventions for capability-building, the trading position of the group have been greatly enhanced. Also, from its membership of 12, it has now expanded to 21 After years of intervention and gradual progress in their production skill and capacity, the group was encouraged to file their registration with government's Securities and Exchange Commission. The group was duly recognized last October 14, 1999, both in the national and local level. Like the other groups from Pangasinan and Bicol, URBACPA also received a substantial amount under CCAP's incentive program. To date, aside from the incentive now being maximized for production fund build-up, the group also tapped other sources of technical support (production equipment assistance) from partner government line agencies.

Their Products
Specializing in quality bamboo (Bambusa spinosa) furniture, the group is known for their skills in bamboo-based products. They produce variety of items combined with other indigenous raw materials like abaca, seagrass and split rattan. At present, the group is venturing more into functional products classified as houseware items, office accessories and furnishings. Their products include: magazine racks, candleholders, stools, chairs, CD racks, dividers, clothe bins, wall hangers, modular tables, collapsible shelves and trays.