Thirty (30) members of the Santiago Island Hog Raisers Agriculture Cooperative, a coconut farmer organization from Bolinao, Pangasinan, completed a three-day training on the processing of coconut by-products, specifically coconut charcoal briquetting, on September 25–27, 2024 at the Our Farm Agri-business Skills Training and Assessment Center Inc (OFASTrAC), Barangay Torre 2nd, Mangatarem, Pangasinan— one of the Center’s private extension service providers.
Mr. Dale U. Ramos of Center for Bamboo Development Inc. (CBDI) served as the resource person for the three-day training, sharing his expertise to equip the coconut farmers with knowledge and skills in the production of coconut charcoal briquettes as potential income generating projects of the cooperative. A set of briquetting machines was also awarded to them as a start-up.
This initiative not only diversifies their operations but also adds value to local coconut farming by utilizing coconut waste products, particularly coconut shells, to produce charcoal briquettes.
Batch 2 of the said training is set for November 20–22, 2024.
