CHAPTER T - STORY OF VINZONS PIGLETS PROJECT (Taken from TJ forthcoming book PIGLETS UNLIMITED)
This project deserved another book to be written, but must be included as a chapter in my book because of the value and importance of its initial success as piglets recycling project in the town of Vinzons, Camarines Norte, Philippines. It's a continuing project that started in 2007 and the end is nowhere in sight because of its inherent characteristic as a timeless program. It's here to stay forever as a work in progress eternally.
This is not a solo project or implemented by a single individual. It is s a group endeavor of my Filipino friends in New York City plus the local group in Vinzons, Camarines Norte, Philippines that decided sometime in mid 2007 to start giving piglets. We had to overcome distance and communication between NY and with people in Vinzons. We had decided to go away with formal organization, or forming a foundation, or non-profit corporation, to avoid the hassle and messy requirements of such organization. We just felt that our donations will go directly to the purchase of the piglets and give them directly to the beneficiaries, without diluting the donation amount in miscellaneous expenses. We deemed that it was not necessary to charge any fees, maintain any headquarters, choose officers, give salaries or commissions, and pay travel expenses. It would be simple and straightforward giving of piglets to recipients. We communicated via internet and cellphone texts for faster results.
Fortunately, we found a good leader and coordinator in that town who knows internet with a cellphone to boot. We were lucky that he belongs to a church outreach group engaged in charitable work and spiritual matters, called Munting Samahan ng Kristyano (MSK), sponsored by the local Catholic Church. Aptly translated, it means Small Association of Christians, with their own set of officers and many members. They acted as Implementor or Coordinating Group with volunteers that selected the piglets recipients and beneficiaries and did all the dirty job of actual buying, handling and deliveries of the piglets, and subsequent visitations, monitoring, reporting of progress and all associated activities.
Per original concept and selected formula of this program, the contract requires every recipient to pay back or return three (3) piglets to the Implementor during the course of breedings, and nothing more. This particular contract model was adopted in our project to provide room to generate income for the Implementor-group to enable them to derive funds for expenses in the successful execution of the project and to sustain it with ease without interruption through the years. The project itself generated its own income to become self-sustaining. Sustainability was the major issue that need to be solved and assured donors and supporters. This methodology was needed in order not to burden the original donors or waste their donations. And it's the most transparent way to channel charity, based on one donation per piglet at cost, with proper reporting and accounting. The workload involved is directly proportional to the increase of recycled piglets. Mounting expenses are unavoidable like more visits and monitoring, emergencies, and miscelleneous expenses. These expenses continue to grow as recycle-recipients also continue to increase in numbers. Where else can they secure funding for these expenses except from self-compensation, without being dependent from donors all the time.
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Fortunately, many donors from USA and other countries, who have affinity to Vinzons, helped and we were able to donate 84 piglets over a 2 year period, from Nov 2007 to Dec 2009. It was next to impossible to gather donations in one lumpsum in one period. Donors gave over several months. The pigs therefore have to grow also over several months.
About 30 of the donated pigs gave births since then, and 60 recycled piglets were derived and given to other families, which they called phase 2. One recyled-recipient's pig from this phase had given birth recently, and 2 recyles were derived and given away, which they called phase 3.
Such cycles will conitnue to repeat under proper management and monitoring. As of Aug 2009, the 84 original donated piglets have spawned further 64 recycles, resulting in the grand total of 148 families that had been helped. The growth just continues and now remains unstoppable. Everyone is raising their pigs. All pigs are growing. All female-recycles will breed. All recycle-piglets will be given away, and the process is repeated over and over again. Can you stop a pig from growing and breeding? Can you stop the recycling process? Obviously, not.
What was started will never stop, unless everybody involved from donors down to the last beneficiary stop as a collegial body, without exception.
Please note that the originally donated 84 piglets entailed real costs as they came from actual donation and were used to buy the piglets. But the 64 recycled-piglets were already free of costs and were given away without coming from any donation. All future recycled piglets will always be free of costs. Such is the man-made miracle phenomena of this program. This proves that anything is possible with bright ideas.
The 64 recycled-piglets mentioned in the foregoing came from 32 original recipients. These 32 recipients had become comfortable with their material well-being due to this livelihood or piggery. Many of these 32 individuals opted to form a multi-purpose cooperative, as they could already afford the membership fees and contribute to shares of stocks, per government rules and regulations.
As of this writng, they had elected their set of officers and registered their cooperative, under the name of Tacboan MultiPurpose Cooperative or TAMPUCO. Tacboan is old name of the town of Vinzons. They already gathered P75,000 initial paid-up capital, and have not even started to any business activity. I mentioned only 32 original members, but more future families will enter into the picture and more members will join the cooperative, due to the multiplier effect of piglet-recycling. Membership will automatically increase. Paid-up capital will increase. More shares of stocks will be sold. As things now stand, they will are assured of almost guaranteed business growth of thier cooperative and be able to engage in other forms of charity in the town, involving education, health, and jobs.
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There are 19 town sections (barangays). About 9 more barangays have not been reached or participated in the piglets recycle program. The problem is distance and accessibility due to having to cross rivers and mountains to reach the places. The Tacboan Cooperative will be tasked to manage the piglets program for these far-flung sections of the town, as they have now the capital and resources for this business venture, which will assure them of sure-fire income, while assuring the future recipient-families their initial free piglets.
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This community has been given a new lease in life. Without the piglets program, the town will continue to remain stagnant due to absence of commercial activity. The government officials were originally skeptical that such a piglets dispersal program will thrive and be sustained by the implementors of the church outreach group (MSK) due to many failuires in the past. The government had done similar piglets dispersal projects before but never attained and accomplished recycling, as the pigs ended up being sold and eaten, without consideration to future recipients. But now, it's a different story all together. In fact, the first 3rd phase recycle had been attained, after only 2 years of management and close monitoring.
Stories and testimonies from receipient-families are replete with anecdotes of their successful bakyard piggeries. They had been able to pay for school expenses of thier children. They paid their debts to their creditors. They could now afford certain certain amenities, furnitures, and appliances that they would never have dreamed of before. But the best impact is the formation of their multipurpose cooperative.
This struggle will not stop and more sequel to this story are still to be written because this project has no ending.