Beneficiaries of the LSP-NSB program from San Manuel Tarlac pose with (standing from Left) DTI provincial director Agnes Ramirez and San Manuel Mayor Donya Tesoro. They received carpentry tools, cooking and sewing materials to help them with their livelihood
Livelihood starter kits amounting to Php 2.19 Million pesos were recently given by the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Office III (DTI-3) to micro- enterprises in Central Luzon affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The starter kits are part of the Negosyo Serbisyo sa Barangay – Livelihood Seeding Program (NSB– LSP) of the DTI, and is a component of the Social Amelioration Program of the government during the pandemic.
For Central Luzon, the distribution of starter kits intends to help micro–entrepreneurs recover and restart their livelihood during the quarantine period. As of July 28, 2020, a total of 368 beneficiaries in 58 barangays in the seven provinces of the region benefitted from the distribution of the kits. Aurora had 15 beneficiaries while 104 entrepreneurs in Bataan received their livelihood kits. Nueva Ecija has 69 beneficiaries while Pampanga has 45 and Bulacan has five recipients. Tarlac has 84 while Zambales has 46 beneficiaries of the said program.
Instead of cash, livelihood packages amounting from Php5,000 to 8,000 were distributed to beneficiaries in affected barangays under the NSB-LSP. The items included in the starter kits vary according to the kind of livelihood in the communities. These include sari-sari store items, coconut products and processing tools, food processing kits, doormat making tools, ingredients and materials for kakanin and other delicacies, pillow cases and pot holder materials, electronic supplies, fresh fish processing materials, street food ingredients and cooking equipment, aluminum and glass materials, upholstery tools and materials, rice, and mushroom processing materials.
The Livelihood Seeding Program of the DTI is part of the enrolled programs in the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and is included in the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 Series of 2020 providing for, among others, social amelioration measures to help Covid-19 affected communities cope up and recover their livelihood. A total of Php 200 Million was set aside by the government countrywide for the program.
