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.


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