Champions

Ms. Eva Ritchelle D. Padua is the owner of Baguio-Benguet’s Dulche Chocolates, established in 2017 as a bean to bar chocolate producer. She started to work with cacao growers after seeing the need to develop the cacao industry in the province, even from the propagation stage. She, with the support of different agencies, initiated the creation of Cacao Growers and Processors of BaguioBenguet Federation in 2021.

With Ms. Ritchelle’s leadership as the chairperson, the said federation helps enrich the knowledge and skills of cacao growers on cacao maintenance and cacao processing. As a woman entrepreneur, she continuously reaches out to more women and men to plant cacao as an additional source of income. She is one of Baguio-Benguet’s Cacao Champions.

Dulche Chocolates is a recipient of the Women-Helping-Women: Innovating Social Enterprises (WHWise) Program

Muscovado Sugar Made Even Sweeter

■ SHARMAINE CHOCOWEN with a project on research and development of Standardization of Ways in Enhancing and Establishing Techniques in Processing Highland Cacao (Project SWEET-PHC). It was approved in 2022 for this year’s implementation.

The Bangan Mother’s Organization of Sabangan, Mountain Province is an organization that is composed of 33 entirely women, aged 30s-70s. It is engaged in muscovado sugar production and currently farms more than five hectares (5ha) of sugarcane. It was organized way back in 2006 keeping in mind that they could be of partners with their husbands in improving the economic status of their families.

Teresita A. Tecan, the Chairman of the organization, expressed that being involved in such has given the members confidence in realizing that their roles and responsibilities as women go beyond being housemakers but as income providers at the same time.

Through the project, it aims to enhance Dulche Chocolates processing and standardize the complete process, from planting of cacao to the procedure of tablea and chocolate making for the production of healthy and high quality chocolates out of locally-produced cacao. This innovative, commerciable, and adoptable process will be shared among women- partners growing and processing cacao of Benguet -Baguio and Region CAR as a whole.

The WHWise Program is a DOSTPCIEERD program that brings together government agencies and private organizations to seek out and prepare women-led social enterprises for growth, scalability and subsequent venture capital funding.

Indeed, the organization is a manifestation of how empowered and resilient women are as they emphasize their crucial role towards community development and in attesting that they can be at par with any gender.

So, what makes sugar even sweeter? It is the hands of these women who keep on working hard for their families and who continuously pave their way towards recognition and acceptance for an inclusive society, regardless of gender and status.

■ RONA MAE BAUTISTA