By Ahmed Toledo
Publication Date: [Monday, October 16, 2006]
The Philippine STAR
Business as Usual
 

She’s considered by her peers as one of the pioneers of Fair Trade in the Philippines. She has had her share of marching in the streets, protesting unjust international trading relationships that has kept Third World countries like the Philippines in seemingly perpetual underdevelopment. But she has not limited her advocacy to militant activism.

For more than a decade, Antonieta "Nette" Ocampo has dedicated her life and her work to helping small enterprises weather the whims and caprices of international trade, particularly when their negative effects on local industry had intensified with the advent of globalization and trade liberalization. This, by helping small producers become competitive in the trading game.

Not too many Filipinos realize it but current rules of international trade are stacked against the poor. Many big countries are allowed to sell their produce to smaller countries while continuing the imposition of 100 percent tariffs on imports from these countries. Worse, developed countries subsidize their agriculture, leading to depressed global prices of commodities and keeping millions of farmers in poverty.

The advocacy of Fair Trade is a pro-active response to this injustice and Nette Ocampo has been in the thick of this fight since 1994 where she first worked as project manager of the Philippine Fair Trade Program.

Established by MASAI (Management Advance Systems Association Inc.) with assistance from Tradecraft Exchange, a UK-based NGO, the Philippine Fair Trade Program focused on providing business development services to small producers and facilitating access of their products particularly to markets of the First World.

Ocampo was cut out for the job, having previously worked in Hong Kong for 10 years as head researcher for an economic development foundation and a regional airline association and as assistant general manager for an interior design firm.

The latter job involved sourcing materials for designers in the Philippines as well as looking for markets for their skills and capacities. This was an experience that required dealing with international trading entities, a skill that would serve her well in her work as program director of the Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc. (APFTI), the full-blown organization that the Philippine Fair Trade Program eventually became.

Ocampo would serve as APFTI’s main workhorse from 1997 till her retirement early this year, shepherding the organization’s work in teaching small producers of food and handicraft items the art and science of business planning, business development and management, product packaging, marketing and selling. Most of APFTI’s clients are disadvantaged groups such as community artisans, farmers, women and indigenous folk living and working in poor, often remote, areas of the country. To these, APFTI not only provides training but also funds particularly to enable them to participate in regional, and if they can already do it, in national and international trade fairs where they are able to meet buyers from all over the country and the world.

Ocampo, though retired, remains in the APFTI board of trustees and continues to be active in spreading the message of Fair Trade.

In this day and age of globalization and trade liberalization, when cheap imports are flooding the local market, the only way we can save local industry is by supporting small producers, Ocampo says.

Small producers, she points out, are not only the most numerous, comprising majority of enterprises in the country. They are also the most vulnerable – to exploitation by greedy traders and middlemen as well as to the temptation of risky business practices that threaten the health and safety of consumers and the environment.

She explains that given today’s highly competitive business environment and the pressure of rising cost of production inputs, many producers, whether big or small, are being forced to take short-cuts in their business practices. These short-cuts, such as the use of hazardous products in food preparation, not only affect the quality of their products but also endanger consumersí lives.

Now more than ever, Ocampo says, enterprises must be taught how to do business not only efficiently and effectively but also responsibly and ethically. That is, doing business the Fair Trade way, which, among others, enjoins enterprises to pay fair wages to their workers, avoid using child labor, provide equal opportunities to women and men, and employ environmentally sound production processes.

How can consumers support the products and advocacy of Fair Trade? Consumer support can come in the simplest forms, from buying the products of Fair Trade-oriented producers to attending forums that impart knowledge about burning issues relating to the countryís trading relationships with developed nations where they can have a better understanding of the economic problems that Filipinos are continually battling with as consumers and as citizens.

Ocampo points out several outlets where people can access the products of and learn more about the advocacy of Fair Trade.

In Metro Manila:

1. Filipinas Fair Trade Ventures (FFTV) c/o Ms. Ramona Ramos, 73 Road 2, Project 6, Quezon City, telephone: 920-83-65/928-84-32

Product line: light furniture, house wares, baskets, bags, lamps

2. SAFFY (Social Action For the Filipino Youth) c/o Sofronio Lapitan, 2594 Lamayan St., Sta. Ana, Manila, telephone 561-0395

Product line: handcrafted baskets, bags, lamps, housewares, decores, light furniture

3. Community Crafts Association of the Philippines (CCAP) c/o Gina Sodorra, 693 G. Araneta Ave., Quezon City, telephones: 712-2160 or 0920-901-2382

Product line: light furniture, baskets, houseware, bags, lamps

In the provinces:

1. PREDA (People’s Recovery, Empowerment and Development Assistance Foundation, Inc.) c/o Alex Hermoso, Upper Kalaklan, Subic Bay, Olongapo City, telephone: (047) 223-9229 or 0918-9224453

Product line: dried mangoes, mango puree, handcrafted bags, accessories, decors, recycled slippers, bags and toys

2. KATAKUS c/o Betty More, Room 3, 2/F Vias Court, 53 Legazpi St., Davao City, telephone: (082) 221-8157 or 0919-879-2620†

Product line: hand-made paper, lamps

3. PANAY FAIR TRADE CENTER c/o Ruth Fe Salditos, Sitio Manue, Tagbac Sur, Oton, Iloilo 5020, telephone: (033) 336-9611

Product line: mascobado sugar, banana chips

4. Southern Partners for Fair Trade Center (SPFTC) c/o Geraldine Labradores, People’s Fair Trade Shop, Dr.1 YMCA Complex, Osmena Blvd., Cebu City, telehpne: (032) 412-5893

Product line: dried mangoes, mango puree, bags, banana chips

Handicrafts of Aklan Multi-purpose Cooperative (HAMPCO) c/o Lionesa Leyson, 610 Rizal St., Kalibo, Aklan, telephone: (036) 268-6880 or 920-510-5647

Product line; pina and abaca fiber-based products, shawls, placemats, cushion cover

Salay Handmade Paper Products, Inc. (SHAPPI) c/o Neil Rafisura, National Highway, Purok 1, Poblacion Salay, Misamis Oriental and 2nd Floor, DR 205, De Leon Plaza Bldg., Yacapin-Velez Sts., Cagayan de Oro City, telephone: 088-858-75-17

Product line: handmade paper, lamps, fans

For more information, please write, email or call:

THE ADVOCATE OF PHILIPPINE FAIR TRADE, INC. (APFTI)
47-A Road 2, Project 6, 1100 Quezon City, Philippines
Telephone: 425-1230 to 31; 454-4744
Fax: 454-1567