BEHIND THE SCENES
Alfred P. Dizon
(Kathleen Lungub, advocacy and communications
officer of Foundation for a Sustainable Society (FSSI) writes this week’s
column)
In light of
the recent international talks on the post-2015 goals, Foundation for a
Sustainable Society (FSSI) continues to present triple bottom line social
entrepreneurship as an effective way of helping the poor develop sustainable
communities.
In a recent
forum on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and ways forward, Jeffrey Sachs,
special advisor to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the MDGs,
said that alongside economic development, governments and development
institutions must also adhere to socially inclusive and environment
sustainability goals.
Triple
bottom line, coined as kita, kapwa, kalikasan, is the integration of
economic, social, and environmental goals in solving pervasive societal
problems such as economic crisis, inequality, and environmental degradation.
“For the
past 20 years, FSSI demonstrated that development must come from the poor and
this we do by maximizing their capacities to participate in economic
activities, resulting to jobs, income, and protection of natural resources from
which the poor communities get their livelihood,” says FSSI Executive Director
Jay Lacsamana.
In its 20
years of existence, FSSI has helped more than 200 social enterprises or
organizations of farmers, fishers, persons with disabilities, indigenous
peoples, women, and other marginalized sectors in areas of organic agriculture,
crafts, industrial raw input production, aquatic production, microfinance and
cooperative development for the past 20 years.
Social
enterprises are social mission-driven organizations that engage the poor as
owners, workers, or suppliers in economic activities whose main goal is to
reduce poverty in their living environments. A social enterprise aims to
achieve social and environmental bottom lines and not only financial returns.
To date,
there are around 30,000 social enterprises in the country taking the form of
cooperatives, micro-finance institutions, and fair-trade organizations, among
others.
In Luzon,
one of FSSI’s partners is the Malaya Development Cooperative (MDC), a social
enterprise producing dairy products like fresh milk and yogurt sold to walk-in
customers, small groceries, and schools in Isabela and nearby provinces. Once
beset with problems on debt to traders and typhoons, some farmers in Mallig now
earn a daily added income of Php 660 out of milking three cows provided by the
cooperative.
Founded in
1995, FSSI was established following a successful debt-for-development
agreement between the Government of the Philippines and the Swiss Confederation.
The agreement paved way to Switzerland’s cancellation of the Philippine’s
outstanding export credit debts amounting to 42 million Swiss Francs
(approximately USD 34 million.) Following this, a counterpart fund, equivalent
to fifty percent of debt amount, was put up and was channeled to FSSI to
finance sustainable development projects for the marginalized sectors.
Aside from
financial services, FSSI supports enhancement for entrepreneurial capacities,
engages policy makers and facilitate the participation of poor communities in
policy development and implementation and acts as facilitator, partner,
advocate and implementer where appropriate.
Through
social enterprises built with triple bottom line, FSSI hopes to continue
building just, sustainable, and empowered communities with the poor benefitting
the most.
***
The
Foundation for a Sustainable Society (FSSI) is a social investment organization
committed to support the development of sustainable communities through social
entrepreneurship. Since 1995, we have developed 200 social enterprises with
triple bottom lines in marginalized communities that are owned, managed and
operated by the poor, economically sound and environmentally-friendly. We are a
network of dynamic organizations in the field of social and economic work.
This year marks our 20th year anniversary.
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