In the first week of April 2024, the ISEA team together with our partners Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, Vizcaya Fresh, Kayapa Organic Producers Association, Inc., visited the Community Networks (CNs) which were set up in Nueva Vizcaya. Community Networks were set up in Cabanglasan and Pangawan to assist organic farmers in marketing harvests through a social enterprise called Vizcaya Fresh. In return, farmers can efficiently plan their farms and crops with access to information such as farmgate/market prices, farm inputs, and even available technology online.
After the Nueva Vizcaya visit, the team also visited another implementing partner Philippine Coffee Alliance which is also part of the Community Network (CN) project. PCAi is one of ISEAโs four partners implementing ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ด (MBCN) ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฐ๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ค ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต. PCAi is establishing a pioneering model of CN inspired by frugal technology and Internet of Things (IoT) to collect necessary data that will provide valuable insights for community-based coffee social enterprises.
The MBCN project is being implemented in Bangladesh, China, and the Philippines. The project is supported by APNIC Foundation through ISIF 2024. This CN project in Nueva Vizcaya and with PRRM is one of the projects supported in the Philippines.
With this continuing effort, we hope to connect the unconnected and bridge digital divide and provide meaningful connectivity among geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and communities in the Philippines.