SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities

The University’s Innovation thru Leveraging Industry, Government, Academe Networks, and inclusive Community Engagements (ILIGANiCE) team provided consultancy and guidance services to Bualan Agrarian Reform Community Cooperative (BARCOCO) in Bualan, Tubod, Lanao del Norte. The latter is an Agrarian Reform Beneficiary Organization (ARBO) in Lanao del Norte.

The consultancy and guidance services were intended to improve and upscale BARCOCO’s banana flour production. As part of this initiative, the University’s Professor, ASEAN Engineer Eulalio Creencia conducted a site visit and inspection for the standardization process and technical assistance of BARCOCO’s banana flour production.

As a result, several recommendations and areas for improvement for BARCOCO’s banana flour production were given to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). One of the key recommendations was the reconfiguration of its solar drying facility, which includes the placement of additional circulating and exhaust fans and humidity meter. This will increase the surface area of the tubes to supply a greater amount of heating air.

The College of Economics, Business, and Accountancy (CEBA) conducted a Social Enterprise Development extension project. This initiative is strategically designed to address the specific needs of the women in Barangay Digkilaan– a locality which is geographically isolated and which belongs to the disadvantaged areas in Iligan City.

Through this extension project, the University was able to assist the LGU of Iligan City in identifying and developing local products to promote and enhance Barangay Digkilaan. The project started with a Rapid rural assessment of the community, with an in-depth research study on the socio-economic status of women and their participation in community-based associations.

It was discovered that despite the prevailing patriarchal societal structure, where men are often the sole providers of the family, the Digkilaan Women have untapped potential, especially in the field of sewing– which is found to generate higher income.

As such, handicraft skills training, particularly macrame and crochet making, was the primary training given to the women in Digkilaan. Aside from this, the beneficiaries were also engaged in the following training– management training, marketing training, production training, bookkeeping and accounting training, and Financial Literacy Training.

The program was able to empower the Digkilaan women by capaciting them to generate their own income while fulfilling their domestic responsibilities. Concomitantly, the project contributed to the sustainable development and poverty reduction in the area.

With the expertise and guidance of the Department of Computer Engineering and Mechatronics (DCEM) faculty members, with Assistant Professor Jonathan T. Solano as the project lead, the city traffic officers delved into the intricacies of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and gained proficiency in programming them using ladder logic diagrams. Through engaging lectures and hands-on sessions for 5 days, the learners not only grasped the fundamentals of PLCs but also acquired the confidence to navigate both the software and hardware components of these devices.

The training not only equips participants with technical expertise but also instills a sense of responsibility and dedication towards improving traffic efficiency and serving the community of Iligan City.