Women empowerment is more than just a phrase in La Union, where 39 active women’s associations work together to uplift their communities.

In a statement on Wednesday, provincial agriculturist Sharon Viloria said majority of the women’s associations in the province operate in the agricultural sector.

“While some of these women are wives of farmers, the others are heads of households who juggle their roles for the family, and at the same time for their community in their collective aspirations for growth,” she said.

These women are engaged in producing, adding value to, and selling agricultural products.

They also receive training and capacity-building support from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist.

“They are regular participants in our monthly Kadiwa ng Pangulo program, which helps them bring their products to a wider market,” Viloria added.

One such group, the Apayao Women Association in San Gabriel, has 123 members farming rice, highland vegetables, bananas, and tiger grass.

They also produce turmeric tea and dishwashing liquid for additional income.

“Our association is deeply rooted in farming –cultivating rice, highland vegetables, and bananas, and tiger grass,” Nelly Ducusin, the association head, said.

In the town of Caba, another women group plays a crucial role in community empowerment. The 75 women-members of Sapsapang Women’s Association in Barangay San Jose work together to ensure the sustainability of their group and help provide the needs of their families through their organization.

Aside from selling pork from the hogs they raise, the group also loans money from their own capital contributing to the growth of the micro-economy of their village.

“We are a group of mothers who work hard and find creative ways to uplift the quality of lives of our families,” Evelyn Banan, president of the association, said.

The group has been beneficiary to various livelihood grants and capacity-building initiatives of both local and national governments since they were established in 1993.

“These groups are a testament that women have power, and they do not only continue to break glass ceilings, but also tenderly plant the seeds for a sustainable future,” La Union Governor Raphaelle Veronica Ortega-David said. (PNA)