Young social entrepreneur pioneers chocolate making in Lanao del Sur

credit:

When Sittie Aisah Usop Balt was asked by her father in April 2021 to come up with a way to make money from the cocoa beans they had grown in their 3,000-square-meter backyard in Barangay Tagaooran, Bayang, Lanao del Sur in the Philippines, the then-28-year-old high school teacher thought it would be a good idea to watch videos on how to process the pods containing the beans.

She even tried processing the beans herself, but the end product was so bitter she decided to read more about cocoa beans and discovered that cocoa is a high-value industrial crop, with a global demand that has nearly tripled since 1970, reports the Philippine Statistics Authority.

So she started to read more about chocolate, and learned that in the Philippines, Davao region is the leading cocoa producer with a share of 71.2%.

In November 2021, she pitched her idea to the Ranaw Project Grant Program of Lanao del Sur province in partnership with Philippine Business for Social Progress.

Their original prototype was "tablea," a raw material used for hot chocolate, but the day before the pitching competition, they were able to come up with dark chocolates.

Their dark chocolate won fourth place at the grant program and bagged P100,000.

She also hired more people to help

Read the Entire Article

How's Your Community Doing?
Check Out it's
Community Vital Signs

Nurse at Ssm Health St. Agnes in Fond Du Lac Earns Nightingale Award
Foundation: Oshkosh Area Community Foundation

A nurse in Fond du Lac, Wis., is this year's recipient of the DAISY Award, given to those who go "above and beyond" to provide excellent patient care. Haley Birschbach, a nurse in medical...more

Highmark Charitable Fund Awards Grants to West Virginia Nonprofits
Foundation: Highmark Foundation

The American Heart Association will be getting a CPR kit in West Virginia schools thanks to a hefty grant from the Highmark Foundation, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports. The foundation's West...more

The Museum at Warm Springs Receives $20,000 in Operating Support from Oregon ...
Foundation: Oregon Community Foundation

An Oregon museum that tells the story of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is getting a major upgrade after a $20,000 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, KTVZ reports. "On behalf of...more

Publication Highlights Economic Realities Faced by Wyoming Families

How much does it take for a family of four to make ends meet in Wyoming? That's the question posed by the Wyoming Self-Sufficiency Standard, an annual report from the Center for Women's Welfare at...more

Esteemed Counseling Service Launches Restorative Justice Practices

"If you flip over a desk, you flip over a desk, you flip over a desk, you flip over a desk, you flip over a desk, you flip over a desk, you flip over a desk, you flip over a desk, you flip over a...more

Community Foundation Announces Host of First-Quarter Awards
Foundation: Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties

The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties has announced it has awarded more than $2 million in grants to organizations and initiatives primarily in the areas of human services,...more

Chs Students Awarded over $365000 during Scholarship Night

A 17-year-old from Coldwater, Mich., has become the first of his family to receive a college scholarship after graduating from high school. The Detroit Free Press reports that Owen Callahan was...more

Business Conference Puts Suny Fredonia on Map

"Ask a random person on the street if they can explain the purpose of business analytics, and you can expect a blank stare in return," State University of New York at Fredonia professorustav Misra...more

Six Honored for Community Service Efforts

When Betsy Reed Schultz learned that her son, Capt. Joseph Schultz, had been killed in Afghanistan, she founded the Captain Joseph House Foundation to provide a break for Gold Star military...more

Record-Breaking Funds Raised At Sold-Out Inaugural Wellington Derby Fundraiser

The Florida community of Wellington is known for its impeccable sense of fashion and fine dining, and now it's adding a little something extra to the mix: the Kentucky Derby. The Palm Beach Post...more