TAGANITO MINING BOOSTS PWD WELFARE WITH P1.2M LIVELIHOOD PROJECT
With an initial P1.2M funding for a poultry farm in barangay Cabugo in Claver, Surigao del Norte, Taganito Mining Corp. (TMC), recognizes the rights of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) to opportunities and economic freedom.
TMC and “DAPJA Native Chicken Poultry Farm”, recently launched a native poultry livelihood project with PWDs in Cabugo. The project duly acknowledges the rights of PWDs to a sustainable livelihood and an empowered future.
TMC provides the funding and technical support, in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, to ensure the project is sustainable. DAPJA members on the other hand, conducted a “bayanihan” to build the farm, and take turns in manning, managing and monitoring the poultry farm.
DAPJA is a 35-man strong people’s organization (PO) whose members are PWDs and their family, all from barangay Cabugo.
Dapja is a local term, which means “rocks surrounded by water”, that the group has taken as their official name.
The municipality of Claver is a mining community and home to TMC, a subsidiary of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC).
DAPJA President, Eddie Gasulas, says “the members of DAPJA are committed to making the project succeed not only to acknowledge TMC but, more importantly, to show the dependability of the PWDs in Cabugo.”
The DAPJA poultry farm project started initially with 8 cages with 40 hens and 8 roosters on a one hectare property owned by the family of DAPJA Pres. Gasulas.
Engr. Aloysius Diaz, VP for Ops for TMC, who represented the mining company during the launch, said the project is not yet earning in its early stage but he is excited to see the poultry farm grow and become successful in the near future for the benefit of the PWDs in Cabugo and Claver.