What is Sustainable Livelihood Program?
The Sustainable Livelihood Program, also known as SLP, is a community-based program, which provides capacity building to improve the program participants’ socio-economic status. As a component of the Convergence Strategy, the program aims to serve the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilya, hoping to sustain and expand beyond the five-year intervention the socio-economic benefits gained.
Prior to being called SLP, the Department of Social Welfare and Development already implements the Self-Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SEA-K) Program. It is one of the core social protection programs geared to combat poverty. The SEA-K Program is an investment in building social capital at the community level in order to increase the access of marginalized households to financial services. It has the goal of establishing community-based, self-managed and sustainable credit facilities to enable the economically active poor to have continued access to credit.
- To improve the socio-economic capacity of the participants through a micro-enterprise development and employment facilitation program that shall ultimately provide a sustainable income source ;
- To facilitate opportunities for micro-enterprise development through social preparation, capacity building and resource provision activities;
- To facilitate the linkage to employment opportunities through social preparation, capacity building and labor-market networking;
- To link the participants to support services and programs of different partners, including but not limited to NGAs, CSOs and private institutions;
- To improve the beneficiaries’ capacity to avail of the products and services of different financing institutions, including but not limited to credit, savings and micro-insurance;
- To promote community involvement and social responsibility among the participants through activities that builds their relationship in their community, their co-participants, their families and themselves.
- Should belong to poor households as identified through the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHT-SPR), prioritizing Pantawid Pamilya program participants and other qualified poor households not included in the NHTS-PR
- Should at least be 18 years of age for the Employment Facilitation Track and at least 16 years of age for the Microenterprise Development Track after submission of a written consent from a legal parent or guardian
- For the Microenterprise Development Track, should be a beneficiary of DSWD’s social protection programs and services who has limited or no access to formal credit facilities (micro-financing institutions, banks, cooperatives, formal lending investors, pawnshops, and other formally registered credit entities)
- For the Employment Facilitation Track, should be a beneficiary of DSWD’s social protection programs and services with labor skills but with no formal employment or is unemployed
5. Preferably be a beneficiary of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program for at least 2 years wherein the Social Welfare Indicators (SWI) show a readiness for engagement in livelihoods
Program Tracks
SLP is implemented through a two-track program. The first track, the Microenterprise Development Track, supports micro-enterprises in becoming organizationally and economically viable. Meanwhile, the second track, the Employment Facilitation Track, assists participants to access appropriate employment opportunities.
The Microenterprise Development Track is a capacity building program that focuses on micro-enterprise development, skills enhancement, networking and partnership building, and provision of capital assistance to poor families. The participants shall be organized by their economic or livelihood activity.
The Employment Facilitation Track provides assistance to unemployed members of poor families preferring a job rather than start an enterprise for income generation. They shall be provided with technical skills training, occupational guidance and counseling, and job referrals or placement.
CDED Process
Both tracks are executed based on the Community-Driven Enterprise Development (CDED) approach, which equips program participants to actively contribute to production and labor markets by looking at available resources and accessible markets. The CDED approach promotes the Local Economic Development (LED) strategy and Value Chain Production of each community.
The program participants undergo a broadening of their resource-base by mobilizing savings, accessing capital, engaging in microenterprise activities, participating in the value chain markets, and receiving institutional development support.
Appropriate training activities are provided to the participants for them to improve their existing micro-enterprises or pursue other enterprise activities with market opportunities. A follow through intervention is done by connecting them to non-government organizations and private sector groups that provide business development services such as: (i) product and marketing development, (ii) skills enhancement and business management in preparation for market integration, and (iii) diversified loan packages for further financial assistance.
SLP Updates
As of the 3rd quarter for CY 2013, SLP (Region 3) has provided capital assistance amounting to P18,705,500.00 to 3,331 groups of beneficiaries with an average of 30 members per group and 158 individuals, commonly known as family enterprise, amounting to P1,119,817.00
In terms of partnership, interventions of partners range from: 39% Employment Facilitation, 31% Values and Skills Formation, 16% Credit, Savings and Micro-insurance, 3% Product Development and Marketing, 2% Market Linkage and 9% other services.
A monitoring and evaluation system called Sustainable Livelihood Program Information System (SLPIS) has been deployed starting March of 2013 to ensure efficient and timely monitoring of beneficiaries served under both Microenterprise Development and Employment Facilitation Tracks of the Sustainable Livelihood Program.
The Sustainable Livelihood Program recognizes the need to establish partnership with different sectors of society to better uplift the living condition of our beneficiaries and be able to cater to their needs. Through SLP’s National Project Management Office (NPMO) and Regional Project Management Office (RPMO), the SLP has been consistent in tapping partners to expand its capacity of effective program implementation.
Some existing partners, both National and Regional level include:
SM FOUNDATION
SM Foundation has recently conducted its graduation to farmer beneficiaries of Bulacan, Tarlac, City of San Fernando and Fort Magsaysay, who were part of the “Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan” project, a skills development training on new farming technologies to beneficiaries in rural areas.
KAPAMPANGAN DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION (KDF)
KDF conducts a series of skills development training with topics on meat processing, quail egg production, honeybee keeping, fruit tree propagation technique, mushroom culture, soap and detergent making etc. every Saturday of the month to further capacitate and enhance livelihood skills of beneficiaries.
NEGOTECHNO
Negotechno supervises the provision of technical skills training on the production of decorative materials out of corn husks specifically in Tarlac.
BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY (BSU)
BSU is one with the vision of uplifting the socio-economic status of beneficiaries through capacity building and skills development. Additionally, planting of Mangrove among coastal areas particularly in Babatwin Malolos Bulacan has been a priority project of SLP and BSU.
BPI-GLOBE BANKO
Assisting beneficiaries in terms of savings mobilization and social insurance has been the commitment of BPI Globe BanKo.
ALALAY SA KAUNLARAN INC (ASKI)
More than being a micro finance institution, ASKI aims to promote the welfare of the poor by extending capacity building, training and employment. A Farmer’s Entrepreneurship Training was conducted last August and September to Cabanatuan City and Abandon Nueva Ecija.
SL- AGRITECH
SL Agritech imparts the different techniques and technologies particularly in Hybrid Rice Farming to our farmer beneficiaries
UP-CSWCD
UP-CSWCD already conducted two successful immersion of their students in Bagting Nueva Ecija focused on Community Development, Immersion, Social Preparation and Self-Awareness.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS (DPWH)
“Trabahong Lansangan”, a partnership project of DPWH and DSWD is continuously implemented in all seven provinces of the region.
TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (TESDA)
All provinces of Region 3 has successfully culminated TESDA’s Cash for Training project and conducted turn over of tool kits to beneficiaries
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT (DOLE)
DOLE had provided capital assistance to families in Nueva Ecija with working children to eradicate the growing number of child labor and encourage establishment of livelihood to these households.
PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Through their “Negosyo Mo, Bukas Ko” program, out of school youths from the City of San Fernando Pampanga are given the opportunity for employment which may later on help them pursue education. GoNegosyo also designed a 2 ½ month Training for Transformation to empower and develop the personality of these out of school youths who are now on the road to a brighter future.
