Pearl in an ice cream cone
Sagay City, Negros Occidental – One of unexpected perks I get as project officer of the book project “A Story Worth Telling” is the opportunity to travel to places that otherwise I would not care to go to because they do not offer amenities that city dwellers usually look for like fancy restaurants, air conditioned shopping arcades, and five-star hotel service for vacationers on a shoe-string budget.
Sagay City in northern Negros is one such city – a laid back and 3rd class city of more than 140,000 people.
This cone-shaped city is home to Northern Negros School of Science and Technology Multi-Purpose Co-operative (NONESCOST MPC). The journey of NONESCOST MPC is story number 7 in the compilation of stories titled, “A Story Worth Telling.”
Former Visayas Cooperative Development Center (Victo) National chief executive officer Mercedes “Ched” Castillo, who has since moved to the opposite side of the sector as member of the Cooperative Development Authority Board of Administrators conceived the project together with this writer. The best practices of outstanding co-operatives under the Victo National federation are highlighted to affirm the power of the co-operative after the United Nations declared 2012 the International Year of Co-operatives.
NONESCOST MPC was born in 1999 through teachers who banded together to form a self-help organization with initial investment of only P2,500.00 Today, the enterprise has grown into a thriving organization with assets of more than P32 million and 754 members coming not just from the educational institution but from different sectors of the city.
The journeys of successful co-operatives mirror human struggles and with respect to NONESCOST MPC, the challenge came when members began to lose interest in the enterprise a year after it was organized, putting to the test the Co-op’s viability.
I gathered this in a talk with one of the Co-op’s pioneers, Mr. Ernestor Vistar. Worried that the enterprise would go down the drain, he sought the help of a famed co-operator in the neighboring city of Escalante, Dr. Romulo Sisno, who happened to be a member of the NONESCOST faculty.
It’s been 14 years since their paths crossed and today NONESCOST MPC continues to make a difference in the lives of many in Northern Negros.
Apart from its well-run savings and lending operations, the Co-op has gained the gratitude of members because of very accessible and affordable medical-related services. For example, the Co-op embarked on a mobile medical service that extended among others, an array of diagnostics for members at only 25 percent of the regular price.
I arrived here yesterday and found out there are only 5 hostel facilities, the biggest of which is the 100-room Balay Kauswagan owned by the city government.
I had prepared myself for a quiet but busy week but the itinerary prepared by Co-op manager Lizza Mae Lacson and administrative staff Archie Basanta resembled a tourist treat and that got me very excited.
Sagay is an ice cream cone-shaped city that comes out like a precious pearl because of its unspoiled natural resources, like 32,000 hectares of enthralling marine reserve, the best showcase of which is Carbin Reef. My team and I are scheduled to visit this tongue-shaped sand bar and advance printed materials provided us by the Office of Mayor Alfredo Maranon III simply whetted our appetite for adventure and nature trailing.
Carbin Reef is a 200-hectare marine sanctuary which offers the “freshest option for swimming, scuba diving, snorkelling and picnic, boating and just frolicking in the sand.”
The city is a proud advocate of total development of children through the Museo Sang Bata sa Negros, a “premier museum that will awaken and stimulate the creative and intellectual potentials of Negrense children.”
Molocaboc island is another fascinating natural wonder. While discussing preparations for the documentation, Archie told me that I better pray that today would be high tide and sunny because it’s the best time to enjoy the 1.5-kilometer path walk submerged in clear waters. Visitors who come to Molocaboc island gush at the “sea cabinet” of verdantly green mangroves, a result of the local government’s rehabilitation project. Not surprisingly, Molocaboc is famous for fresh sea food and fascinating shell crafts.
Tomorrow, I’m scheduled to pay Mayor Joseph Maranon III a courtesy call in his office which is close to the city garden and “Living Tree Museum.” The area teems with different flowering plants, shrubs, vines and has a man-made plateau with a beautiful grotto, meditation area, greenhouse, and nursery.
