Buying Local

In the NCCC grocery and department store, in the grocery section, there is a shelf filled with OTOP products. Above this, there is a large banner framed with green painted bamboo, that has the title, "The Best of Palawan" It doesn't seem like a very effective sign. Like many of the local packages, it has a couple of poor images dropped in with a bit of confusing text. To make the situation even less effective, this unit is set up in the narrowest part of the store, near the back which is always busy, and so unless you know what your looking for, it is difficult to have a good look. There is no story about where the local products come from or who makes them. And despite the OTOP logo (on the sign, not the products), very few people I have spoken to have any idea what OTOP is. OTOP isn't even "One Town, One Product". It is many baranguays, and many products. Although the idea is a potent one, it is not communicating to anyone in its current state.

I have asked people from the city governement, and I have asked producers. I have asked other people I have met, and they all agree that when they buy a product here, it is because they have always liked that product, and although there might be a stall in the market that they know they can get an item, there is little acknowledgment of who makes that item, or where it might come from. When I ask what products have been designated by OTOP, I get a lot of humming and hawing, and categories are listed. The Department of Trade and Industry has a kiosk at their PPC office which sells Palawan OTOP products, and has a hand produced cataologue of sorts, plus an internet kiosk to find out more on the web. Most of the local producers do not have web pages, and even the national OTOP website lists almost nothing of what has been designated on Palawan. How are people supposed to know that this kiosk is even here?

There are promotional banners all over the city talking about one government project or another, but no one has taken the time to think that communicating to the local community about their fellow citizen's products might be a good idea. For all I know when I buy cashews or chocolate or honey, they could be from any part of the country or another country. Many products are marked with "Product of the Philippines" but if they aren't leaving the Philippines, what difference does that make. What needs to be happening here is encouraging people to pride in their own home. This is what helps local businesses prosper.