Social enterprise ‘CLOY’ highlights farmers’ plight amid pandemic
A s the country clocks in what is now dubbed as the one of the longest lockdowns in the world, many local businesses suffer the crippling effects left by the long-haul COVID-19 pandemic — and Cordillera indigenous farmers have been feeling this toll a thousandfold.
This prompted former Ifugao representative Teddy Baguilat Jr., along with his college friends, to establish the social enterprise Cordillera Landing On You (CLOY) named after a popular Korean drama series.
The social enterprise offers customers in Metro Manila with fresh produce and goods directly bought from the farmers of the Cordilleras. These products include vegetables from Benguet, lemons and strawberries from Baguio, coffee and woven masks from Ifugao, as well as Good Shepherd products, all at fair prices.
Baguilat saw how Ifugao farmers struggled with an overproduction of vegetables, which remained unsold even at much lower prices.
“Ang vegetables sa Benguet talaga, bagsak-presyo. ‘Yun ang problema rin ng ating agricultural system, very much dependent on demand and supply, and then ‘pag talagang bagsak ang presyo, ang kawawa ‘yung producers,” the former congressman of Ifugao said.
Wading into the uncharted waters of online selling, Baguilat shared the situation of the agricultural producers of the Cordilleras in his social media accounts, which immediately received positive responses and drew a number of customers.
The appeal of the social enterprise’s namesake initially boosted their sales. “You had us at CLOY,” their customers would say, according to Baguilat.
But more than having a new source of income, the group of friends want to provide a means to the agricultural sector that has long endured low income and unjust treatment even before the pandemic.
Forwarding farmers’ narratives
CLOY co-founder and Inquirer journalist Tina Arceo-Dumlao revealed that highlighting the stories of the people they were helping was the secret formula to the success of the social enterprise.
“I think our customers right now, given two products, they’ll buy the one that they know will help someone, so whenever we feature our partners, they always buy,” she said.
The social enterprise noted the importance of genuinely helping the struggling farmers rather than manipulating them for the sake of profit — a rampant case in the agricultural industry.
“You make sure that you don’t shortchange, [that] you don’t prey on their desperation,” Arceo-Dumlao said.
The group wants to encourage small enterprises like them to follow certain rules when dealing with the indigenous peoples and make sure that their rights are being protected, such as preventing intellectual theft and promoting proper use in terms of the IPs’ woven products.
“The woven products have certain meanings, they are not purely aesthetics, so when you’re dealing with the IP groups, kailangan alam nung buyer ‘yun,” Arceo-Dumlao added.
The social enterprise is part of the UNDP Tawid COVID Program, a network which forwards the principle of fair trade.
Following this principle, CLOY has been providing new landscapes for the agricultural workers of the Cordilleras to bring their produce to the lowlands as lockdown restrictions hampered tourism activities — the main source of livelihood in the region.
Not a smooth landing
Like the very sense of the word crash landing, the social enterprise had a bumpy touchdown. “Parang on the job training,” Baguilat admitted.
Having no prior knowledge and experience in handling business, excluding Arceo-Dumlao’s husband — another member of the CLOY team — the group had to learn the ins and outs of the social enterprise from scratch.
Even the minute details about the size of a vegetable or the redness of a strawberry had to be considered, according to Arceo-Dumlao.
“We had to learn many things like how to bring it properly, how to package it properly. [There are] many lessons from the beginning, and until today, we’re still learning,” she said.
But Arceo-Dumlao confessed that dealing with customers was the hardest part of the business.
“You learn a lot about people. Iba-iba talaga sila, so you have to be ready when you’re in a business, you have to be ready to deal with all sorts. Hindi sila lahat mababait. Hindi rin sila lahat reasonable,” she added.
Meanwhile, Baguilat raised that while income is not the main objective of the social enterprise, they also needed to ensure that the project won’t be placed on a crushing standstill.
“[Sa] mga nagbabalak na magtayo ng mga negosyo na nakakatulong sa tao, importante muna siguraduhin mo na kumikita ka rin kasi kung hindi, paano mo matutulungan ‘yung tao kung after one month, bankrupt ka na pala,” the former Ifugao representative pointed out.
The CLOY team eyed the middle class as their target market and settled with fair prices in relation to supermarket prices in order to aid the farmers and producers that they had direct contact with.
But at certain times, product wastage is inevitable, according to Baguilat. Fortunately, they have friends who are willing to buy the products for their community kitchens.
Beyond Cordillera
What began as a witty nod to a hit K-drama series eventually reached other communities, providing more opportunities and market to farmers from other regions who were left to fend for themselves due to the government’s inadequate pandemic response.
During their avocado run last year, the social enterprise was able to sell at least 800 kilos, which were directly sourced out from the Mangyan community in Mindoro.
Baguilat said the social enterprise also helped a farmer in Bulacan who resisted to let his agricultural land be converted into subdivisions — a glimpse into the plight of the farmers in the country.
Outside the Cordilleras, the social enterprise likewise aids farmers from Abra and Bataan.
Arceo-Dumlao said they added six people to the CLOY team, who all lost their respective jobs due to the pandemic. “We don’t get paid though. I mean, ‘yung bayad sa amin is just the profit margin,” she declared.
The social enterprise is willing to further expand and crash-land more indigenous communities and sectors that have been placed at the receiving end of the pandemic’s toll.
“I’m sure there are other organizations who are helping indigenous peoples communities. Kinakailangan siguro magkaroon ng alliance and magkaroon ng principles on how to engage with the indigenous communities and to capacitate them also,” Baguilat said.
Aside from keeping the CLOY team’s mental health in stable ground, one of Arceo-Dumlao’s takeaways from this one-year journey is that “you’d also develop a relationship of trust with these people and it’s rewarding.”
“Siguro nga kindness begets kindness,” she added.
This article was originally written in May 2021 for a J111 Feature Writing class under Prof. Rachel Khan.
