Philippine law supposedly gives land rights to anyone who has lived on abandoned land for 10 years. But the people have no lawyer, and the owner has friends in high places. The benefits of organisation can be seen more clearly in Punto Salok, forty kilometres up the coast. This provided 30 microcredits with which women bought hogs, started small-scale trading projects, or financed their children's education. Repayment is ahead of schedule, which has allowed 10 additional members to benefit from similar loans.
Builder provides the training and support to enable community development.
The group previously received government funding for a pre-school feeding programme, but decided to use the money for income generation instead. Over half the members attended a two day residential seminar on strategic planning. The sacrifice involved shows both their determination, and their conviction that organisation has improved their lives. Not surprisingly, they now want their husbands and sons to organise a fisherman's association. They place their hope in the self-organisation of the urban and rural poor, in collaboration with the rest of the progressive movement.