LIVELIHOOD PROGRAM. Persons deprived of liberty at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) works on slab/slot-making for the engineered kawayan (e-kawayan) (e-bamboo) factory in Alaminos City in this undated photo. BJMP and the e-kawayan factory have partnered to provide a livelihood to the inmates during their stay at the facility. (Photo courtesy of BJMP Alaminos City)
MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) and the local government-operated Hundred Islands engineered kawayan (e-kawayan) factory have partnered to provide livelihood to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) in Alaminos City.
BJMP operation and investigation staff Jail Officer 1 John Ray dela Cruz, in a phone interview on Thursday, said 30 PDLs have undergone training in early December 2023 and their first production was made in the last week of the same month.
“They produced 900 slabs per order and their gross income amounted to more than PHP23,000, less the expenses. The net income will be divided among them,” he said.
The bamboo, given on a consignment basis, came from people’s organizations (POs) tapped to grow bamboo for the e-kawayan factory.
Aside from slab/slot-making, City Agriculturist Arceli Talania, in a separate interview, said the PDLs will also be trained in curing the slots, to make them ready for production into novelty items as well as chairs and tables, among others.
Since the factory opened in 2018 at the 1,000 square meters of land in MVC techno demo farm in Barangay Tangcarang in Alaminos City, Talania said they have manufactured almost 2,000 pieces of e-kawayan products annually.
Four POs, including the BJMP Alaminos City, have been benefiting as partners of the factory in the production of raw materials or finished products, she said.
“There is an ongoing validation and survey to determine total hectares of bamboo plantation in the city, but the truth is it is still insufficient that we still have to tap other municipalities to partner with us,” Talania said.
There are no wasted materials in the e-kawayan factory since waste products are turned into fertilizers, among others.
The Alaminos City government will soon partner with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to turn waste products into fabrics to add value to it, Talania added. (PNA)
