On August 31 to September 3, 2020, two women representatives from the Knoon Highland Farmers Association (KHFA)—Dunisa Budog and Pastor Myrna Tiwan—were invited by USAID's Protect Wildlife program and the Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. alongside other people's organizations in South Cotabato to learn about developing financial systems. The training focused on basic bookkeeping, which will help set up our farmers and their organization to become more financially robust through the years. After starting with 60 farmers in March 2019, KHFA has grown to 261 farmers—who mainly grow coffee and abaca—this month.
For September, our farmer-partners are focusing on getting trained for different skills and processes, including a training on Good Agricultural Practices or GAP in coffee, which will be provided by ACDI/VOCA's PhilCafe program and the USAID. A leadership training is also scheduled this month for key officers of the association. The Office of the Municipal Agriculture of T'Boli has been coordinating these activities with the training organizations.
We'll continue to share updates as we prepare for a new harvest in October! We hope to have new beans to roast and brew by then.
