This SK in Laguna sets up online ‘talipapa’ to help farmers, jobless locals

LAGUNA, Philippines – When their public market became heavily crowded in the middle of a pandemic, the Sangguniang Kabataan of Barangay Dila, Bay in Laguna thought of bringing the goods online instead.

In a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the municipality of Bay had put in place limited window hours and designated days when residents in specific barangays could go out and purchase essentials. This, however, led to long lines in public markets.

“We thought of a more millennial answer to this problem. After weeks of brainstorming with my SK council, together with our youth volunteers, we initiated a project for an online palengke,” said Roy Padrid, the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman of Brgy. Dila, Bay, Laguna.

Dubbed “Talipapa Online,” the online public market hopes to not only help locals avoid COVID-19 transmission, but it also aims to help jobless individuals, fisherfolk and farmers whose livelihoods were affected. (READ: In lockdown, communities find different ways to feed each other)

The SK especially wanted Talipapa Online to house all types of food supply from farmers, fisherfolk, and jobless individuals such as freelancers, artists, and event organizers within the region who are heavily affected by the pandemic.

Helping the community

Supplying Talipapa Online and delivering the orders are young individuals who have lost their jobs during the lockdown and who have volunteered to join the online platform to make ends meet.

Helping other locals in their area, these young individuals source Talipapa Online’s meat supply from a local slaughter house in Brgy Dila, with vegetables coming from local farmers in Tanauan City, Batangas. The fruits come from a vendor in the public market, while the fish are from local fishermen based in the lakeshore of Aplaya, San Antonio, Bay, Laguna.

Through Talipapa Online, they get to consolidate these goods in one platform for locals to browse, similar to what they see in a public market. (READ: While classes are on hold, students find ways to help affected communities)

By April 25, the SK was able to launch Talipapa Online for locals to use.

Hopes for access and sustainability

Those interested in buying from the SK’s Talipapa Online can answer their Google order form, chat their Facebook page, or text their number at +639215713506.

Due to the limited number of SK volunteers manning Talipapa Online, the online market can only accommodate deliveries two days a week.

Deliveries for every order can only be done on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with an order cut-off time of 4 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. 

Padrid hopes that the SK will be able to deliver more throughout the week to help households who can’t afford to buy in big quantities.

“For me, a twice a week delivery set-up does not cater to all kinds of households in our municipality. We know that not everyone is capable of storing food that is good for 3 to 4 days long. We know that not all houses have a refrigerator to store food and not all are fortunate to buy food that will last for 2 or more days,” he said.

The SK and its volunteers also plan to extend the project beyond the lockdown and reach more people in the municipality.

“We hope that most of Bayeños use this as an option to buy essential goods, so the project can stand on its own in the long run,” Padrid said. “Not all Bayeños are familiar with Talipapa Online. The reach of our publicity is not that wide [yet] since we are only using a barangay page and the target customer of Talipapa Online is municipal-wide.”

Even with all the hard work that goes into making the online market happen, Talipapa Online remains a non-profit project of the SK.

“At the end of the day, we are trying to help our community by doing one of the many ways to flatten the curve and more of just giving choices to our households to buy food,” Padrid said. 

Youth involvement

Inspired by the hard work exhibited by the young volunteers manning Talipapa Online, Padrid urged the youth to lead or join similar efforts in their community to help.

“One concrete way is to be part of a youth volunteer team in their nearby community to help the Sangguniang Kabataan so they can be involved in innovative projects in fighting this pandemic,” he said. “We shall put our efforts into action as we continue to help our community in our small ways to flatten the curve,” Padrid said.

Talipapa Online is currently looking for volunteers who can help handle their social media page. To be a volunteer, simply message Serbisyong Pangbarangay Dila and wait for their reply. – Rappler.com

Mark Ernest Famatigan is a human ecology student and Rappler mover based in Los Baños, Laguna. He is the associate editor of the UPLB Perspective.