Women’s group in Albay donating harvest to Taal Volcano evacuees

ALBAY, Philippines  –  The Women for Progress Movement in Albay, an association of women planters from Mayon Volcano in Albay, harvested 30 sacks of kamote (sweet potatoes) for Batangas evacuees displaced by the Taal Volcano eruption.

With the help of Albay 3rd District Representative Fernando Cabredo, women from the towns of Guinobatan, Oas, Polangui, Libon, Pio Duran, and Jovella said they would deliver the donation to evacuees of Agoncillo, Batangas on Wednesday, January 29. The town is located within the 7-km danger zone.

Though several evacuees have already returned to their homes after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) downgraded the Taal Volcano from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3, many Batangueños still remained in evacuation centers. Areas within a 7-km radius from the main crater are still off-limits for residents.

The women of Albay are not new to disasters having survived Mayon Volcano eruptions and strong typhoons like Tisoy and Ursula.  This was why Cabredo said the donation was a way for them to help people facing difficult circumstances they were already familiar with.

“The hardworking and generous women planters of Albay would love to bring hope and courage to the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption by donating fresh and newly harvested kamote,” Cabredo said.

The Women for Progress Movement was organized by former Albay 3rd District Representative Fernando Gonzalez in 2016. It is now headed by retired public school teacher Evelyn Ragos from Polangui General Comprehensive High School.  

The movement started as the Taranuman sa Barangay project, which was organized after Typhoon Nina hit Albay on December 25, 2016. Its aim is to provide a source of livelihood for women in Albay through planting vegetables and other root crops in backyards.

Since then, members of the movement have continued with the project, providing fresh vegetables in Albay’s local markets, despite the  passing typhoons and the constant threat of the Mayon Volcano eruption. – Rappler.com