our journey / press
our journey
It all began with a boredom, frustration, an answer to a crossroad in the founder's personal journey. An inspiration, encouragement and support from a patriotic friend. Relentless prodding of a mayor, curiosity, passion for the poor, compassion, an understanding family and the ultimate action.
Benjie Picardo, a serial entrepreneur and a wannabe social engineer enjoying semi-retirement but unhappy with his golf game, uprooted himself from San Francisco to get muddy with the farmers in Iraya.
Jicontol Valley in Dolores, is a vast, fertile, fully irrigated but underutilized rice farmland. Due to their challenges, the farmers yield a dismal average of 35 sacks per hectare. We launched our pilot in Eastern Samar because it is one of the most economically depressed province in the country. "Nation-building must start at ground zero and build from ground up. Over half of informal settlers in Metro Manila are from this region", says GK Founder Tony Meloto.
Starting with a demo farm of 13.5 hectares in May 2010, the proof of concept was successfully implemented in Jicontol Valley now harvesting an average of 232 sacks per hectare. Using the SL-12H “miracle rice”, responsible input /pest management and corporate efficiencies, the farmers have netted an average of P48,000.00 per hectare per harvest from both their harvest share and labor wages. Up from P3,000.00 (US$70.00) a year. Iraya Farms nets about the same as the partner farmers to bankroll succeeding croppings and expansion.
Iraya Farms has since acquired production equipment, post harvest facilities, transport, service vehicles, boats and built warehouses. We continue to build capacity as we increase hectarage. Gawad Kalinga continues with its values formation programs. Iraya Farms partnered with the local government unit in finishing the farm to market road abandoned by contractors due to fund shortage, birthed by unabated corruption.
Today, DSWD has collaborated with us in implementing their Cash for Work/Training program. The Philippine Coconut Authority has enjoined IF to add value to coco farmers. IF will shift the farmers from the cartel-controlled copra to the finished products coco sugar and premium lambanog. IF has created market linkages where the farmers make 10 times more than copra.
Benjie Picardo, a serial entrepreneur and a wannabe social engineer enjoying semi-retirement but unhappy with his golf game, uprooted himself from San Francisco to get muddy with the farmers in Iraya.
Jicontol Valley in Dolores, is a vast, fertile, fully irrigated but underutilized rice farmland. Due to their challenges, the farmers yield a dismal average of 35 sacks per hectare. We launched our pilot in Eastern Samar because it is one of the most economically depressed province in the country. "Nation-building must start at ground zero and build from ground up. Over half of informal settlers in Metro Manila are from this region", says GK Founder Tony Meloto.
Starting with a demo farm of 13.5 hectares in May 2010, the proof of concept was successfully implemented in Jicontol Valley now harvesting an average of 232 sacks per hectare. Using the SL-12H “miracle rice”, responsible input /pest management and corporate efficiencies, the farmers have netted an average of P48,000.00 per hectare per harvest from both their harvest share and labor wages. Up from P3,000.00 (US$70.00) a year. Iraya Farms nets about the same as the partner farmers to bankroll succeeding croppings and expansion.
Iraya Farms has since acquired production equipment, post harvest facilities, transport, service vehicles, boats and built warehouses. We continue to build capacity as we increase hectarage. Gawad Kalinga continues with its values formation programs. Iraya Farms partnered with the local government unit in finishing the farm to market road abandoned by contractors due to fund shortage, birthed by unabated corruption.
Today, DSWD has collaborated with us in implementing their Cash for Work/Training program. The Philippine Coconut Authority has enjoined IF to add value to coco farmers. IF will shift the farmers from the cartel-controlled copra to the finished products coco sugar and premium lambanog. IF has created market linkages where the farmers make 10 times more than copra.
expansion
In 2011, we scaled up to 100 hectares in Dolores, Eastern Samar. Unfortunately, mother nature intervened with two flooding episodes resulting in dismal harvest. Encouraged by the faster social maturity and tenacity of our partner farmers, we persited in hopes of replicating our successful 1st cropping. As the area's infrastructure capacity grows, we will continue to expand.
Using the same template, we planted 31 hectares in Rizal in Palawan. As expected the harvest quadrupled the usual production in the area. This next cropping, we roll out to Nara, Palawan, Nueva Ecija and Negros Oriental. These 100 hectare compact farms are showcases to other farmers in the immediate areas and beyond as we sow hybrid seeds throughout the country’s fully irrigated areas. In the aforementioned areas, we are enjoying the overwhelming support of both national and local government leaders and strategic private partners. The Department of Agriculture has given us mechanical driers and a multi-pass rice mill in Dolores, Eastern Samar. Socially-responsible restaurant chains the likes of the Pancake House group are committed to buy our rice.
verticals
Leveraging the success of the Big-Middle-Little Brother social enterprise template, other scalable and replicable enterprises are being implemented to provide employment and opportunities. GK trained beneficiaries could be the most desirable partner workers any enterprise is privileged to have. These little brothers, hustlers for survival all their lives are the best sales people.
In Tacloban City, Iraya Water (www.irayawater.com) started mid March 2011 delivering 5 gallon jugs of purified water to residential and commercial customers providing employment to the beneficiaries of the newly-established GK community in barangay Palanog. Iraya Water has been the success template in social enterprise. The Little Brother has now ascended to the Middle Brother position. Through hands on training by the start up Middle Brother, the Little Brother has now been installed to run the enterprise employing 3 Little Brothers and 1 Sister. The Middle Brother has moved on to establish another Iraya Water branch.
Iraya Bread, started baking in Jicontol Valley November 2010. Due to various factors, we had to unwind the project. We are smart enough cut our losses and move on.
In its pilot stage is Iraya Pork. Iraya Pork is not only a poverty reduction initiative, it is also a carbon capture revenue stream. Working with Food From Thin Air(www.ffta.com), Iraya Pork will an implementing partner of FFTA.
Not surprising, other socially-responsible parties have taken the cudgels of partnering with us in eradicating poverty. We will soon be busy encouraging other farmers throughout the Eastern Visayas region to plant sweet potato and cassava. The JCA Foundation (Jose Ch. Alvarez Foundation) has set up an ethanol plant in Isabel, Leyte where we are producing 1,000 liters of hydros ethanol for fuel motorcycles and tricycles.
In partnership with the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Balik Probinsya Foundation, we will be producing coco sugar and premium lambanog starting June 2012.
Whew....a lot of work.
