Bariles and the rest of the Soccsksargen Bloggers had the good luck to check out a Corporate Social Responsibility project of  top multinational food producer and Soccsksargen’s #1 employer, Dolefil, up close and personal one weekend.

This is their Chairs-for-Trees Program which was started in 2003.

At that time, because of higher school enrollment and increased material fees, about 20-50 percent of students were without classroom desks and chairs.

To help solve this glaring problem, Dolefil which just recently launched its 5-year Greening Program (click here), joined the Chairs-for-Trees (CFT) Program and partnered with Mahintana Foundation and Mt. Matutum Federation of Marginal Farmers Association.  They did so by donating their used wooden pallets to the program and recycling them into the much-needed desks-chairs.

So, for over eight years now, Dolefil and the program have worked to increase the numbers of desk-and-chair sets, as well as provide both active and responsive assistance to Southern Mindanao communities in the Soccsksargen region.

 

"HERE ARE SOME OF THE USED AND OLD WOODEN PALLETS OF DOLEFIL AT THE MAHINTANA FOUNDATION COMPOUND IN CANNERY, POLOMOLOK"

Initially, instead of disposing them, these pallets are sent over by Dolefil to the nearby Unified Engineering and Manpower Services Multi-Purpose Cooperative (UEMSMC) compound at the Cannery Road in Polomolok, South Cotabato where they are disassembled.  Then a group of carpenters gather and clean the usable planks and start converting them into chairs.

 

A CARPENTER DRILLS HOLES INTO THESE RECYCLED PARTS OF THE USED WOODEN PALLETS OF DOLEFIL.

Under the watchful eye of a quality control staff, the skillful hands of UEMSMC’s carpenters eventually produce sturdy and good quality kiddie chairs.

 

"A NEWLY-FINISHED KIDDIE CHAIR READY FOR PAINTING"

These finished chairs are then delivered to another site within the Cannery area where they are spray painted in Dolefil’s corporate colors.

 

"THE PAINTED CHAIRS OF DOLEFIL'S CHAIRS FOR TREES PROGRAM READY FOR DISTRIBUTION TO RECIPIENT SCHOOLS IN THE REGION"

Each chair is estimated to cost P263.75, according to Gwynee Ebol, Dolefil’s Communication Superintendent.  For every chair that is donated to a recipient school, the school plants 26 trees or one tree for every P10.00 worth of assistance received.

"HAPPY & COMFY PUPILS OF UPPER KLINAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THE CHAIRS FROM DOLEFIL:

Another requirement is that these planted trees must have an 80% survival rate or else their school is taken out of the program and are no longer qualified to receive more chairs in the future.

"SCHOOL CHILDREN PLANTING A TREE TO RECIPROCATE EVERY P10 WORTH OF ASSISTANCE FROM DOLEFIL"

Dolefil supplies the seedlings and tree saplings for the schools which they procure from another local cooperative  called the Mt. Matutum Federation of Marginal Farmers Association. Everyday, their women members are responsible for propagating the seedlings so they are ready for use in plant nurseries and greenhouses throughout the community.

"A WOMAN FARMER WATERS THE TREE SAPLINGS FOR DOLEFIL'S CHAIRS FOR TREES PROGRAM"

At least 700,000 seedlings of various forest and fruit trees have been planted and grown by beneficiaries in the South Central Mindanao area under the Chairs-for-Trees program. The thousands of donations and seedlings propagated for the reforestation component of the project have likewise been a steady source of livelihood for the cooperatives’ members, thus making their groups evolve into viable business partners for their respective communities.

In general, Dolefil, through all these, enabled Chairs-for-Trees to address important concerns, such as education, environment (recycling and reforestation), livelihood generation and organizational development which definitely is an awesome endeavor of the company’s laudable Corporate Social Responsibility Program.

Check out the rest of the accounts of the Soccsksargen Bloggers: