DTI Bulacan Provincial Director Zorina D. Aldana (rightmost) and Balagtas Mayor Eladio Gonzales Jr. (2nd R) gives a sar-sari stores livelihood starter kit to a beneficiary from Balagtas Heights in Bulacan as part of the Livelihood Seeding Program of DTI.

Livelihood starter kits composed of meat products, soap, condiments, milk products, noodles, rice and other sari-sari store items were distributed to former informal settlers now residing in Balagtas Heights resettlement area in Balagtas, Bulacan.

The distribution of the starter kits to 86 families is part of the Livelihood Seeding Program of the Department of Trade and Industry. The event was held on November 24, 2017 at the Municipal Hall of Balagtas, Bulacan and was led by DTI OIC-Assistant Regional Director and Provincial Director of Bulacan, Dir. Zorina D. Aldana, Balagtas Mayor Eladio Gonzales Jr., Vice Mayor Alberto Carating and other local officials.

To help in revitalizing the livelihood of resettlers in their new community in Bulacan, the DTI came up with the Livelihood Seeding Program by providing them with a starter kit as alternative means of livelihood. There are four (4) packages available for the beneficiaries: 1) sari-sari store set, 2) bigasan set, 3) frozen products set and; 4) school supplies, depending on the background and preference of the beneficiary.

Mayor Gonzales and Vice Mayor Carating expressed their gratitude to the DTI provincial office for providing their new community members with a productive means of livelihood. The Balagtas Heights beneficiaries were previously given training on entrepreneurship and record keeping, meat processing, food safety and food handling to prepare them for their business.♦