THE EMERGING STORY OF ‘SLEEPING BEAUTY’
31 December 2018

By: Babble Mae Gorio, SLP Social Marketing Officer (DSWD SLP Field Office CAR)

LANGIDEN, ABRA – “Naadan kami iti kapabilidad iti catering services para ti event organizing nga isu inusar me mangibiruk iti pagkakitaa. Dagiti miyembro ket nakaurnong da iti puonan nga pang negosyo, makaited dan iti balon dagiti anak da, ken regular en nga adat maibayad da iti pagtataengan da (Through the acquired skills on catering services on event organizing, the members were able to earn which they used as capital to start other business, provide allowance to their children, and pay their rents),” said Angelino Padre, Sleeping Beauty Sustainable Livelihood Program Association (SLPA) President.

The Sleeping Beauty SLPA is situated in Malapa-ao, Langiden, Abra. It is composed of 25 members, Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries and indigents in the area, who used to have no definite source of income aside from daily labor.

In December 2018, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) through its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) granted the association the amount of PhP 481, 200.00 for the 5-day Skills Training (ST) on Catering Services on Event Organizing in partnership with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) of Abra.

Participants were given skills training focusing on the management of catering services, booking and planning of an event or occasion. This included acquiring knowledge and skills transfer on serving food and beverages, table napkin folding, skirting, set-up, flower arrangement, and basic bookkeeping to establish their market-driven and resource-based catering services, and event organizing micro-enterprise. As well, they were provided with a grant which they used to purchase catering utensils and event organizing equipment.

After acquiring the needed requirements for registration from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) the group officially started their business in January 2019.

With the support of the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Langiden, Abra who introduced the association during the town fiesta, Sleeping Beauty SLPA started to flourish and be known in their community. At present, members are offering a complete package for various engagements – table skirting, designing venues, and hosting, among others.

Dagiti daduma nga miyembro me nga agbanbanda ket nu adat lakad da inayun da nga ipakaamu daytoy nga negosyo me. Tadta, every week nga ada iti agayayab kanyami nga agcater wenu ag isimpa iti venue nga isu gapu dumanun mi payen iti daduma nga lugar (Members attending occasions promote our catering services. Nowadays, the group is invited every week not just to cater but also for organizing and designing venues allowing us to visit different towns),” he added.

From January to April 2019, the group was able to earn PhP 110,535.00. It was used to acquire additional equipment and materials and employ members with salaries ranging from PhP 400.00 to PhP 800.00 depending on the task done during the engagement.

Dakel nga pagyamanan me ta naikan kami iti pagincome an. Idi narigat kasi awan met iti regular nga pagbirukan me nga trabaho ngem itadta ada nga ada. Kayat me nga agtultuloy daytoy nga negosyo kasi adu iti matulongan na ken uray man nga mabanbanug kami ket ag-enenjoy kami met (We would like to express our gratitude for the livelihood provided. Before, it was hard for us since we did not have a regular source of income, but now we have. Even though we are sometimes exhausted, we want to continue to strive hard to make this [business] successful because it is of great help to the members and we enjoy doing it),” Angelino said.