Cooperatives, particularly multi-purpose cooperatives as the future owners and manager's of community based resources qualified ideally as the vehicle for the development of a rural-based seaweed industry in Sorsogon, Philippines as incorporated in Project Document, PHI/89/004 or the Seaweed Production Development Project.
The Project has a social development agenda. It seeks to introduce seaweed Gracillaria as an alternative livelihood opportunity for the coastal fishermen, in order to raise their income levels. The target beneficiaries, the coastal fishermen needed to be organized into a self-sustaining organization that can outlive PHI/89/004. Eventually, they themselves (beneficiaries) can continue and manage a seaweed Gracillaria farm. These organized target beneficiaries are the cooperatives.
To reiterate, two principles everyone subscribed to which constituted as a kind of Terms of Reference between PHI/89/004 and the project beneficiaries inherent in the cooperatives are:
a. voluntariness- forming or joining the cooperative based on voluntary decision of everyone; only those willing to take up the responsibilities of membership are accepted; and
b. self-help-forming or joining means raising the needed capital from among themselves; one had to pay up the required deposit or share and pledge future payments.
