There are 53 family beneficiaries of the Early Recovery and Resilience Building Project from Christian Aid – ACT Alliance. The livelihood options were determined by the household members themselves – gill net fishing, hog raising, basic goods retail store and seaweed farming. The project provided the materials/items identified for the said livelihood activities.

Prior to the distribution of the livelihood assistance, series of community meetings and discussions were held to allow the community and each household to decide as to what livelihood options to pursue. During meetings, implications of other livelihood options (e.g. hog raising) especially on its impact to food and food security were extensively discussed. A re-validation survey was also conducted to determine the extent of the decision making process in choosing the livelihood option.

The delivery of the requested materials took some time but nevertheless completed by first week of May 2014. Fishnets and accessories delivery were delayed by transportation woes from Manila. The release of the piglets on the other hand requires at least two months to ensure that they are fit for backyard raising.

After a week, a number of fishermen were able to cast their nets already and recorded increase in fish catch and income. Others started to produce dried fish then.

Post distribution monitoring of hogs was conducted after two weeks, households have already constructed well maintained pig pens. Hogs appeared healthy and are gaining more weight. Mixed feeding using local food sources are now in place. There we no reports of any signs or symptoms of a disease yet.

The project also prompted SBTAI to conduct regular community/association meetings and consultations, where aside from the project, association matters were discussed openly and where collective/consensus building process in decision making is further developed.

Skills enhancement sessions in hog raising were also conducted to interphase traditional backyard pig raising and modern yet appropriate practices. In coordination with the office of the Municipal Agriculture Officer (MAO) of Culion, the hog raisers were taught about locally available food sources to reduce, if not eliminate dependence on commercial feeds. Soon they will also be trained on the basics of vaccination and in using injections.

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