Buy crafts from Pinoy SMEs this Christmas to help economy

MANILA, Philippines – Here’s a Christmas shopping tip: buy Philippine-made products crafted by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Presidential Management Staff chief Secretary Cerge Remonde said buying products of SMEs would spur the economy now being threatened by the global slowdown.

He cited the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Self-Employment Assistance- Kaunlaran (SEA-K), a program that assists small businesses.

“With Christmas less than three months away, now is the best time to start thinking and shopping for gifts for loved ones and friends,” Remonde, the Cabinet official in charge of SME development, said in a statement.

“One can settle for the usual trinkets and keepsakes bought from some nearby mall, or one can dare to be a little bit different and buy gifts from the numerous small businesses helped by the DSWD,” he said, adding, “Purchases not only help these SEA-K businesses become more established and sustainable, but shall also lead to more jobs being generated, ultimately lessening poverty in the country.”

He said DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral is so certain that the SEA-K products are now at par with other items in the formal market today that her department has embarked on efforts to establish these products’ readiness for mainstream trading.

The products include not only the usual beverage and food items, but also commodities such as decorative pillows and mats, native jewelry and other accessories, he said.

He said the catalogue is readily available at DSWD offices nationwide as well as in the offices of its partners and donors.

The DSWD is also working to establish a website for the SEA-K products to introduce them to the global market. The website shall not only be a catalogue but is planned to be a virtual shop, with capabilities for online ordering and payment, he said.           – Paolo Romero