Aboitiz Empowers Women Through Bread-Making Livelihood As Part Of National Women's Month Kick-Off

AP Renewables Inc. (APRI), a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), today celebrated the start of National Women's Month by turning over newly-refurbished bakery and bakery livelihood kits to the women’s organization of Limao, Calauan, Laguna.

Photo Insert: TURNOVER OF BAKERY LIVELIHOOD KITS. (L-R) APRI Vice President for Corporate Services Leonardo Robel, APRI Assistant Vice President Antonio Jun Layog, STK President Mercia Domingo, Limao Brgy. Captain Romeo Alvarez, and Calauan Executive Assistant of the Mayor’s Office Erwin Sacluti led the ribbon cutting of the newly-refurbished community bakery at Calauan, Laguna.

The event was made possible through the support of their partners from the Technical Educational and Skills Development Agency (TESDA) Region IV-A, the Municipality of Calauan, and the Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (AFI).

This corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, worth more than P500,000 from the AFI, has financed the refurbishment of the community bakery and baking provisions.

These include a mixer, an industrial oven, a bread proofer, bread racks, bread showcase, stainless steel tables, baking tools, and 250 kgs of flour from the Pilmico Foods Corporation. The project also funded capacity training programs in partnership with TESDA.

The capacity training program ran for eight days, with two days allocated for evaluation. On the final day of the program, 25 beneficiaries received their Certificate of Competency, which increases their chances of employment.

“Our battle cry is ‘TESDA, Abot-lahat’,” shared TESDA Senior Training Unit Head Johram Palconan. “Ang gusto namin ay maabot lahat ng may pangangailangan sa training ng TESDA lalo na iyong may limitasyon at nasa malalayong lugar kagaya ng barangay Limao."

The bakery will be managed by the Samahan ng Serbisyong Tama ng Kababaihan (STK) of Limao and is expected to run its business within this year, serving the host communities and nearby companies like APRI.

APRI Vice President for Corporate Services Leonardo Robel expressed pride in the CSR project, saying, “Our CSR team worked hard in going to our APRI host communities to identify and assess their needs where we can support. Through this, we can produce needs-based, impactful, and sustainable CSR projects for the communities.”

This initiative supports one of the strategic pillars of the AFI: the livelihood program, which aims to positively contribute to the economic conditions, as well as the empowerment, of women, particularly mothers and aspiring entrepreneurs.

“Kami po ay napakasaya sa proyektong mapapakinabangan ng aming samahan," said STK of Limao President Mercia Domingo. "Malaking bagay po ito para sa aming mga ka-nanay upang mapagkakitaan imbis nang lumilipas ang maghapon na wala kami masyadong nagpakaka-abalahan."

With the successful turnover of the bakery and bakery livelihood kits, APRI and its partners are off to a great start in celebrating National Women's Month, creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for women in the community.

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