Linking the Coconut Farmers in the Philippines to Better Market Opportunities through Community-based Participatory Action Research

Abstract

This research aimed to empower eight selected coconut farmers by building an economically sustainable and resilient community. Specificall , it focused on: 1. Improve coconut farmers’ economic conditions through value-added coconut products; 2. Link them with other stakeholders for producing and commercializing coconut products; 3. Design the sustainability plan in partnership with the stakeholders. The researcher employed each content, which is (1) Needs and Support Assessment. (2) the capacity-building activities on Training on Developing Entrepreneurial skills among Coconut Farmers of Burias, Training on “Bukayo” Making, Business Model Canvas, and One-on-One Consultation, Entrepreneurial Mind Setting and Intro to Business Planning and Seminar-workshop in Marketing. (3) Innovative Marketing Strategies; establish a presence on the online platform, specifically digital marketing, by creating a Facebook page that serves as a platform in which their coconut food products bring a better income for coconut farmers. The Coconut 2.0 research initiated by the researcher positively affected the quality of coconut farmers’ lives, thus building a sustainable and resilient community of coconut farmers. A memorandum of agreement was bound between the stakeholders and coconut farmers based on the sustainability plan. These documents were presented to the coconut farmers during the turning-over activity of the research.