Poor people understand how it is to be poor and therefore, those who have survived the pangs of poverty are good example to the struggling but determined poor to improve their lives. The entrepreneurial poor helping the skilled but laboring poor to improve their lives is a genuine development approach to poverty.

INTRODUCTION

Cebu, Davao and Manila are the three key cities in the Philippines, which are the center of political and business activities as well as the tourist destinations in the country. In these key cities are major government offices, commercial centers, business centers, trading centers, terminals, ports, schools, etc. But also in these cities - behind, beside and below the tall buildings are different faces of poverty - squatters' areas, street children and families, traders in the street, drivers, and hawkers, among others. And of course, among those struggling in the busy streets of these key cities are the ambulant food vendors…

BACKGROUND

Ambulant food vendors are the entrepreneurial poor who have capital of as low as P150.00 that is very hard to maintain in the business since everything that the family need is dependent on the business. They are the business people who borrow capital from usurers and credit providers who charge 20 percent interest, for 30 - 45 days maturity depending on the amount of loan. They cannot avail of character loan from legal credit or micro-finance institutions since they do not have business permits.

They are the poor people's source of delicious and affordable food. They are the food servers, who sometimes, also sell the people with different infectious and contagious diseases, making those people unproductive and causing them additional expenses on medications and hospitalization and worst - death.

Many of these ambulant food vendors are women, who bring with them in the street their children, taking the risk of exposing them to negative elements of the street - pollution, being hit by vehicles, vices including illegal drugs, and even sex trading.

They use kerosene and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which price is continuously increasing, and where much of the ambulant food vendors' income is spent in cooking food that they sell.

This is the situation of the ambulant food vendors that serves as the drivers of change for Approtech Asia, with technical assistance from the United Nations Development Programme Regional Energy Programme on Poverty Reduction (UNDP REP-PoR) to pilot the project, "Ambulant Food Vendors: Energy-Efficient Stove and Hygienic, Healthy Food, A Pilot Project for the Urban Entrepreneurial Poor in the Philippines."

GOAL

The project primarily aims to provide the ambulant food vendors with appropriate energy technologies and products such as energy-efficient charcoal stove, solar water heater, solar kiosks and capability-building activities.

APPROACH

One hundred twenty four (124) ambulant food vendors from the key cities of Cebu, Davao and Manila, 80 percent of which are women, were selected as project partners. These ambulant food vendors should be using energy for cooking and for sterilization of eating and cooking utensils that they use for their business. They could either be selling by push carts, by bilao/baskets, by table, or by bicycle with cart. They should be selling food like meals (i.e. viands, rice, arroz caldo, noodles, etc.), snack foods (processed/cooked food items), and juices. They must be willing to undergo capability-building activities and to comply with the LGU/local authority requirements on health and sanitation.

DURATION

The project is planned to be accomplished within the period of two months - March 1 - April 30, 2006.

ACTIVITIES

As part of the project's goal of helping the ambulant food vendors uplift their conditions, one the activities of the project that has been accomplished are the capability -building activities which include the Food Micro-Business Management, Systems Installation/Record Keeping, Food Processing and Menu Planning, Food Hygiene and Sanitation, and Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS). Approtech Asia also assisted the ambulant food vendors acquire Health Card from the City Health Office of their respective cities.

The ambulant food vendor partners were also provided with the energy-efficient and fuel-saving stove or the MABAGA stove to help them minimize their cost on energy thus increasing their profit. Micro-finance livelihood assistance program was also launched for the ambulant food vendor partners. The financial assistance provided to the vendor partners could only be used for acquisition of additional cooking and kitchen equipment, as additional capital for additional product line, for food cart/kiosk improvement and for other purposes related only to the business.

Approtech Asia is also assisting the ambulant food vendors in lobbying with the local government to provide them with a permanent and more decent place where they can vend without being chased by the law enforcers, particularly in Manila, where the major dilemma of the ambulant food vendors is the fact that they are considered illegal and always running before the law enforcers. In most cases, for them to be "protected", they have to shell out some hard earned money - from PhP50.00 to PhP1,000.00 per month - to the law enforcers.

LEARNING AND EXPERIENCES

The implementation of the Presidential Decree 856 or the Code of Sanitation of the Philippines, which limits the ambulant food vendors in selling bottled drinks, candies, biscuits and other pre-packed foods and prohibits the use of utensils, had added to the barriers that limit the ambulant food vendors to improve their lot from being micro-micro entrepreneurs to an industry. They are not allowed to operate in the streets due to limited provision of adequate potable water supplies and waste disposal systems to ensure appropriate sanitary conditions.

But despite the existence of this national law, the ambulant food vendors still exist. This could be attributed to the fact that there are a lot of clientele who looks for an inexpensive but a variety and delicious food, which could help them save time and money.

The ambulant food vendor is a family enterprise where the mother usually takes charge and act as operator while the other family members - the husband or the children - provides help either in marketing, food preparation, vending or in washing and cleaning the eating and cooking utensils. Although tending the business adds up to the burden of women aside from taking charge of the household activities, most women vendors indicated that this is their way of helping their husbands to augment the family's income. The business, unlike any other jobs, also allows them to take care of their children and attend to their needs while earning some money.

The AFVs have entrepreneurial skills, can cook and sell delicious and nutritious food at affordable prices but due to their limitations i.e. lack of place to vend and lack of capital, have failed to succeed. After attending the capability-buildings, the ambulant food vendor partners shared that they have learned a lot - from saving a little from they earn to simple record keeping to food processing and up to legal status and requirements of their business. The vendor partners are now aware and have widened their networks. Some of them are now grouping themselves and are now scouting for a permanent place where they can share and partner in a more stable food business.

The unabated increase in the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) had encouraged not only the ambulant food vendors but also other poor people to use the MABAGA stove. The MABAGA charcoal stove is indeed fuel-saving and energy-efficient as per testimonials of the ambulant food vendors. Fuel savings of 40-70 percent was realized from using the stove. One ambulant food vendor from Cebu relayed that she used to consume 11-kg LPG amounting to PhP560.00 for 3 days, but when she started using the MABAGA charcoal stove, a sack of charcoal amounting to PhP130.00 could hardly be consumed in 3 days. Another vendor from Manila stated that from PhP42.00 of kerosene she use in cooking, with the MABAGA stove she only spend P10.00 and with up to 5 of her neighbors who can boil water. Meanwhile, another vendor had noticed that since she started using the MABAGA stove, she never felt the numbness of her half-body she used to feel when she was still using the kerosene stove.

There are no existing legal micro-finance institutions that cater to the needs of the ambulant food vendors. They would always look for a Business Permit which the ambulant food vendors do not have.

It is also important to note that the ambulant food vendors are excited about the micro-finance livelihood assistance program more because the program will give them the opportunity to save through the Capital Build-up (CBU) component of the program aside from the additional capital it will provide them.