TACLOBAN CITY - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is assisting in the production of abaca textiles in the province of Southern Leyte.
This project of the DOST is an additional assistance they have extended to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) and their families in Maasin City.
Express learned from the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) here that this group of families in Southern Leyte called “San Rafael Overseas Filipino Workers and Families Multi-Purpose Cooperative” will again benefit an additional assistance from the government as they already have existing livelihood projects based in San Rafael, Maasin City.
DOST Provincial Officer Engr. Dominador Clavejo said that a Rotary Machine Wash worth P417,000 is expected to arrive next week to the province to be used by the said cooperative.
The machine is a grant from the DOST and intended only for the said group of families, Clavejo said.
The machine is designed to make sinamay cloth out of abaca. It can be noted that abaca products are now being met with high demands with high price not only in the domestic market but also abroad.
Clavejo said that in order to maximize the use of the machine in a proper way, the experts from the Philippine Textiles and Research Institute (PTRI) would conduct trainings as soon as the machine arrives.
It was learned that the beneficiaries will be taught on how to operate the machine that would be used in the production of the desired product from the abaca fiber. These beneficiaries will also undergo training on dyeing.
Last January the members of the cooperative went through an advance training on analysis designing and pattern making which was attended by Josefa Garlito and Ramiro Guab of the PTRI as trainers.
According to the PIA, the project is also being assisted by the provincial government of Southern Leyte through Gov. Rosette Lerias and Cong. Roger Mercado and other government agencies such as DTI, TESDA, DOLE-OWWA and DOST.
