By Bella Ramos

Barangay leaders from three communities in Pinili learned how to transform tobacco stalks into handmade paper and marketable novelty items through a two-day entrepreneurship and skills training led by the MMSU Department of Social Sciences (DSS) under Project TALEK  on June 24–25 in Batac City.

Dubbed “Sustainable Barangay Entrepreneurship and Training Workshop on Tobacco Handmade Paper (THP) and Novelty Items Production”, the activity was organized in partnership with the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) Industrial Research Department  - Product Development Division under the leadership of Ms. Leonora Nudo and attended by officials and representatives from the partner barangays of Sacritan, Liliputen, and Lumbaan-Bicbica in Pinili, Ilocos Norte.

The project is part of the extension program PanagTARIBAY ti Ili. It focuses on the production of handmade tobacco paper, a technical skill identified as a key capacity-building need by partner communities during a previous assessment.

During the first day of the workshop, participants were lectured on entrepreneurial settings and processes, including key aspects of entrepreneurship,  sustainability of barangay enterprises, and government programs supporting micro, small, and medium enterprises in the province.

Serving as resource speakers on these topics were Assoc. Prof. Bella Ramos, Assoc. Prof. Marjorie Garcia, Mr. Lester Saldua, and Ms. Victoria Morales. Resource speakers Ms. Mary Jane Vives and Mr. Sharwin Abad of NTA-IRD PDD also conducted discussions on the production process for tobacco handmade paper (THP) and the conversion of THP into novelty items.

Participants then engaged in hands-on activities covering the different stages of THP production, including soaking, cleaning, chopping, cooking, beating, disintegration, and sheet formation. They also learned to produce gift bags using paper derived from tobacco stalks and other agricultural waste materials.

The workshop continued on the second day with practical lessons on novelty item production, where participants created certificate holders and gift boxes from the handmade paper made from tobacco stalks and other agricultural waste materials.

In a video message delivered by Ms Belinda Sanchez, NTA Administrator and CEO, she commended the initiatives made by Project TALEK in promoting the economic importance of tobacco, emphasizing the optimization of local resources, empowering the vulnerable sectors, and utilizing government programs to drive sustainable community growth.

Meanwhile, the organizers expressed their optimism that the training would help strengthen local entrepreneurship and expand the production of tobacco products, especially THP from tobacco stalks, and that a handmade paper production facility in the community or a cooperative will be established.

Project TALEK is one of the five components of the DSS extension program PanagTARIBAY iti Ili: Technological Assistance in Revitalizing and Initiating Boundaries Towards Yielding Productivity, Profitability, and Sustainability, which is aimed at strengthening the capacities of barangay frontliners in its partner-barangays.

DSS will then follow the success of this training-workshop by conducting the four other trainings under the extension program: Project AKEM: Capacity Building Workshop on Barangay Ordinance Making; Project PanagDAULO: Training Workshop on the Crafting of Barangay Agenda for Governance and Development Plan (B-AGAD) and Capacity Development Plan (CapDev); Project TAG-AY: Psychological First Aid to VAWC; and Project UKRAD: Leadership Skills Training with Group Dynamics for 4Ps Parent Beneficiaries.

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