60K TREES: SM’S GIFT TO FILIPINOS
As SM celebrates its 60th anniversary, it launches 60,000 Trees: The AweSM Tree Count, a greening program that supports the government’s Enhanced National Greening Program.
In 2013, the SM Foundation collaborated with a group of farmers in Suawan, Marilog, Davao City as part of the greening efforts of SM Grow A Million Trees. The project covered 20 hectares of land and touched lives of upland residents.
Providing and growing cacao and rubber tree seedlings did not only give 20 families of farmers a better way of life and education for their children — these created sustainable farming livelihood for years to come.
Fast forward to 2018: Maximino Gumop-as, a father of eight, is now welcoming growth in his farming income.
The hectare of property that he owns and manages is now home to 2,000 cacao trees and 50 rubber trees. He has experienced two years of year-round harvest, peaking from September to December, since 2014. He reaps as much as 50 kilos of dry cacao beans every harvest season.
He says that a nearby buy-and-sell market keeps his livelihood going, with good rates of as much as P120 per kilo.
“I am now motivated to plant more and keep harvesting,” he says. “I can focus on farming as a livelihood and provide for my family. SM’s support is a breakthrough for us because I can now send my children to college. Back in the day, I could only afford elementary education.”
Gumop-as’ story is just one of the many about how SM’s environmental efforts create ripples in farmer’s lives.
This year, as SM celebrates its 60th anniversary, the brand’s dedication to the community it serves continues with 60,000 Trees: The AweSM Tree Count, a greening program that supports the government’s Enhanced National Greening Program. This continues the SM Grow A Million Trees campaign./
“I can focus on farming as a livelihood and provide for my family. SM’s support is a breakthrough for us because I can now send my children to college”