FPRDI trains Mangyan bamboo furniture makers
Twenty Mangyan furniture makers, members of the Samahan ng mga Manggagawa sa Yunot Nasucob (SAMAYUNA) in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro, recently learned how to make quality furniture after attending a three-day training conducted by FPRDI.
Spearheaded by the local Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the training was the first step in a planby a team of local government agencies to upgrade the Mangyan tribe’s bamboo furniture production.
According to FPRDI’s For. Moreno L. Santander, Jr., “The course oriented the attendees on the basics of bamboo processing, preservative treatment and finishing, as well as standard bamboo furniture designs.For the first time, the participants handledhole saws and learned how to use these in boring bamboo culms. They also learned how to operate a spray gun in finishing their products. They were able to build lounge chairs, a Mangyan-style child’s chair, and bamboo audio amplifiers.”
The course was conducted with the help of the regional and local offices of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)and the local government unit of Bulalacao. Led by the local DSWD, these agencies as well as the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and Mindoro State College of Agriculture and Technology (MinSCAT) are teaming up to establish a common service facility for the Mangyan bamboo furniture makers.
The facility will give SAMAYUNA members access to tools and equipment they would need to help them build better products. # (Moreno L. Santander, Jr. and Rizalina K. Araral, 13 May 2014)
