The Project in Brief

The project entitled, "Promocion del Tejido Social y Productivo para el Desarollo Integral del Comunidades Rurales en Caraga", is a two year project that is being implemented in 12 barangays located in 7 municipalities in Caraga Region in Mindanao, Philippines. The 12 barangays covered by the project include the following:

1. Barangay Poblacion, Municipality of Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte
2. Barangay Bangayan, Municipality of Kitcharao, ADN
3. Barangay Songkoy, Municipality of Kitcharao, ADN
4. Barangay Alipao, Municipality of Alegria, Surigao del Norte
5. Barangay Mabini, Municipality of Placer, SDN
6. Barangay Dugsangon, Municipality of Bacuag, SDN
7. Barangay San Jose, Tandag City, Surigao del Sur
8. Barangay Mabuhay, Tandag City, SDS
9. Barangay Cayale, Municipality of Tago, SDS
10. Barangay Coleto, Bislig City, SDS
11. Barangay San Jose, Bislig City, SDS
12. Barangay Pamaypayan, Bislig City, SDS

The project, which aims to improve the quality of life of marginalized men and women in the region, will benefit at least 720 men, 720 women and 860 children in Caraga. It is funded by Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional (AECI) and is being managed by the Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA)-Mindanao, as Philippine NGO Partner, and Intercambio y Solidaridad (InteRed), as project holder.

The project employs SIAD or Sustainable Integrated Area Development as over-all strategy. It implements a number of community-level activities that are categorized into 7 components, such as Social Infrastructure Building and Strengthening (SIBS), Productivity Systems Development (PSD), Ecological Nurturance, Provision of Social Services (PSS), Local Governance, Resource Tenure Improvement (RTI), and Gender & Development (GAD).

The management and implementation of the project is carried out by a Project Management Office, which is lodged in PhilDHRRA-Mindanao, and 4 Implementing NGO Partners (INP) which are members of PhilDHRRA. The INPs provide the Community Organizers that are deployed in the 12 barangays as well as provide representatives to the Project Implementing Team. The INPs involved in the project are the Associates for Integral Development (AID), Rural Enhancement Assistance Center (REACH) Foundation, Surigao Sur Organization for Human Development (SSOFHDEV), and Livelihood Enhancement through Agro-Forestry (LEAF) Foundation.

The project has a Project Management Committee or PMC that exercises policy review functions in the project. It also works with the Municipal- and Barangay Local Government Units as collaborating partners.

The project commenced implementation in April 2007 and will end in March 2009.

Have ideas? Write them down!

This blogspot is designed to encourage and generate discussion and exhange of ideas among development practitioners, especially, but not limited to, the implementors of the project. If you have ideas - whether raw or developed - that are worth sharing, you can write them in the comments section below or email to us at caraga.ecorr@gmail.com. We would be more than happy to brainstorm with you in this blogspot or via email.

If you have comments and observations about the project, you can write it here as well. This blogspot can be used as a venue to air out your observations. If you have an unsolicited advise to give, feel free to share it here. So, whatever it is you want to say, you can post and publish it in this blogspot.

But, take note that this blogspot will ask for your gmail account as requirement before it loads what you write. So make sure that you have a gmail account. We also advise that you practice self-restraint when you publish something here. Please do not write anything offensive or anything that would offend the senses of others. In case this happens, you know fully well that you are responsible for your own act. We will flag comments or suggestions we deem inappropriate, overboard or irresponsible even without prior information and approval from the writer of the comments. Happy Blogging All!

Official Project Title

The official title of the project is "Promocion del Tejido Social y Productivo para el Desarollo Integral de Comunidades Rurales en Caraga (Na Reg: 06-PRI-229)". In English it means, Promotion of Social and Productive Tapestry for the Integral Development of Rural Communities in Caraga. For certain records of the project, the project may be referred to as "06-PRI-229" or "PhilDHRRA_AECI06".

The project may also be referred to as, "Project Caraga". However, this cannot be used in the official activities, records and documentation of the project or even before AECI. The use of this title is tolerated only for reasons of ease and convenience because the official title is quite long.

We advise not to refer to the project as Project ACCESS. The name Project ACCESS was only a proposed name given to the project at the time of the formulation. Any pre-project approval record or file of the project which bears the title Project ACCESS shall be deemed corrected or clarified by virtue of this publication.

About the PhilDHRRA-AECI06 Blogspot

Finally, our own spot in the information superhighway! Something like this was not entirely planned to be part of our project management information system at the start of the project. But today, we launch the blogspot of the project with high hopes that it will contribute to the strengthening of our computerized MIS and communication/info exchange system.

This blogspot is created for the following purposes:

• To serve as a clearinghouse of information and data about the project
• To serve as a bulletin for project updates so that the implementers of the project have the same information
• To serve as an additional venue for information exchange among the implementers of the project
• To educate the readers about the project
• To share the story and experiences of the development professionals involved in the project and the communities they work with

From time to time, the Project Management Office, which maintains this blogspot, will post project bulletins to keep our partners abreast about the status and activities of the project. The PMO also accepts contributions for posting from the project implementers. Contributions shall be emailed to caraga.ecorr@gmail.com. The PMO reserves the right to publish a contribution or not. The PMO also reserves the right to flag any comments it deems inappropriate or offensive to others. The PMO will not be responsible for any comments or their consequences posted by readers in the comments section.