Laguna embroidery coop to benefit from DTI's SSF program

A Laguna-based cooperative engaged in embroidery is set to benefit from the government’s Shared Services Facility (SSF) program through increased production for export. The Lumban Embroidery Association Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LEAMPC), through the SSF, is expected to receive seven imported high-speed sewing machines worth a total of P490,000 early next year. The SSF, a program by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is a strategic complementary project that intends to balance off existing government efforts/programs to achieve inclusive growth. The sewing machines, which cost P70,000 each, will initially be housed in the cooperative’s training center to get embroiders acquainted with them and to train people who want to work in the business. LEAMPC embroiders fancy garments and accessories such as ornately designed fans and handkerchiefs as well as traditional Barong Tagalog for men and Filipiniana dress and wedding gowns for women. The embroidered garments are marketed by exclusive stores in Metro Manila and bear high price tags. A man’s barong sells for P5,000 and a woman’s wedding gown for P500,000 as these are, mostly made of expensive and delicate pina fibers from Aklan. LEAMPC’s operations has earned Lumban, a third-class municipality, the title “Embroidery Capital of the Philippines.” Marivic Gordovez, the leader of the LEAMPC, their members make up the 80 percent of all embroidery houses in Lumban. In a month, the cooperative produces around 3,000 pieces of handmade garments and 5,000 pieces with the cooperative’s old embroidery machines. According to DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo, the University of the Philippines’ Institute of Cooperatives and Bio-enterprise Development (ICOPED) has offered assistance to complement the SSF program. He said ICOPED particularly offered its expertise in providing training to the cooperatives such as financial and operations management, personnel training, and skills development, among others. Domingo called on local cooperatives to contact their DTI Provincial Offices to learn how to avail of the SSF program.  — KBK, GMA News