KABALASAN, Zamboanga, Sibugay—if you happen to see a bottled calamansi juice in the market, check the label and most probably, the nutritious, ready-to-drink beverage was manufactured by the Nazareth Women’s Association from this chiefly calamansi-producing town. And if you buy them, you empower the women of this town, who run their very own community-based food-processing business.

A group of 51 women, through the Department of Agrarian Reform-Western Mindanao Community Initiative Project (DAR-WMCIP), organized themselves in 2003 to become productive members of society. 

They formed the association and named it after their own barangay, and, through the DAR, underwent various capacity-building seminars and livelihood training.

In 2004 they received financial support to start their own business through DAR-WMCIP, stimulating them to undertake their own small food-processing business. 

WMCIP is a United Nations- funded project under its International Fund for Agricultural Development, which provides financial and technical support to communities in Western Mindanao.

After learning to process their barangay’s most abundant agricultural product, they came up with the calamansi juice. Currently, the cooperative is manufacturing other calamansii-based byproducts like juice drink, juice concentrate, jelly and candy, which they sell to neighboring towns and nearby provinces.

The locally produced nutritious calamansi beverage is a good substitute for soft drinks in the market while, at the same time, maximizing the utility of homegrown calamansi grown by agrarian-reform beneficiaries.

Emeteria Ricaforte, the group’s chairman, said DAR-WMCIP provided the facility, including the prototype of a machine developed to process calamansi juice, while the members put up a small capital, contributing P1,000 a year, plus P100 a month as paid-in capital.

In return, their 51 members get the chance to work every day, earning P10 an hour in processing and manufacturing their association’s various calamansi-based products.

According to Ricaforte, 50 kilos of calamansi can produce 200 bottles of 500 ml of concentrated calamansi juice, which they sell at P60.

Their ready-to-drink calamansi juice costs P15, while calamansi jelly, candy and preserve costs only P35 a bottle.

Zamboanga Sibugay provincial agrarian-reform officer Raymundo Bernardo said the price of calamansi, which is abundant in the town of Kabasalan, sometimes dropped to as low as P35 per sack weighing 26 kilos. 

“We studied their proposal and we are convinced that it will work. We financed the construction of their processing facility.

“Its cost, including the machine they use in the processing, would be around P600,000,” he said.

Since most agrarian-reform beneficiaries grow calamansi, he said the Nazareth Women’s Association buy its produce at a reasonable price and process them, in turn generating jobs.

For instance, calamansi pickers earn P15 per kilo per sack. 

“Before, we do nothing but stay in the house. Now, we are earning some money,” Ricaforte said.

The demand for their products is low, she said, but expressed confidence that with aggressive marketing through the help of the DAR-WMCIP and various national government agencies their small food-processing business will soon pick up.

Mercedita Vesta, a 47-year- old mother of four, said through the project, women in their barangay are now more confident as they finally realized their self-worth.

“I earned not only the love of my children more, but the respect of the community because we are not just anybody. 

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KABALASAN, Zamboanga, Sibugay—if you happen to see a bottled calamansi juice in the market, check the label and most probably, the nutritious, ready-to-drink beverage was manufactured by the Nazareth Women’s Association from this chiefly calamansi-producing town. 

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