When their public market became
heavily crowded in the middle of a pandemic, the Sangguniang Kabataan of
Barangay Dila, Bay, Laguna thought of bringing the goods online instead.
In a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the
municipality of Bay had put in place limited window hours and designated days
when residents in specific barangays could go out and purchase essentials.
This, however, led to long lines in public markets.
"We thought of a more millennial answer to this problem.
After weeks of brainstorming with my SK council, together with our youth
volunteers, we initiated a project for an online palengke," said Roy
Padrid, the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman of Brgy. Dila, Bay, Laguna.
Dubbed “Talipapa Online,” the online public market hopes
to not only help locals avoid COVID-19 transmission, but it also aims to help
jobless individuals, fisherfolk and farmers whose livelihoods were affected.
(READ: In lockdown, communities find different ways to feed each other)
The SK especially wanted Talipapa Online to house all
types of food supply from farmers, fisherfolk, and jobless individuals such as
freelancers, artists, and event organizers within the region who are heavily
affected by the pandemic.
Helping the community
Supplying Talipapa Online and delivering the orders are young individuals who have lost their jobs during the lockdown and who have volunteered to join the online platform to make ends meet.
Supplying Talipapa Online and delivering the orders are young individuals who have lost their jobs during the lockdown and who have volunteered to join the online platform to make ends meet.
Helping other locals in their area, these young
individuals source Talipapa Online’s meat supply from a local slaughter house
in Brgy Dila, with vegetables coming from local farmers in Tanauan City,
Batangas. The fruits come from a vendor in the public market, while the fish
are from local fishermen based in the lakeshore of Aplaya, San Antonio, Bay,
Laguna.
Through Talipapa Online, they get to consolidate these
goods in one platform for locals to browse, similar to what they see in a
public market. (READ: While classes are on hold, students find ways to help
affected communities)
By April 25, the SK was able to launch Talipapa Online
for locals to use.
Hopes for access and sustainability
Those interested in buying from the SK’s Talipapa Online
can answer their Google order form, chat their Facebook page, or text their
number at +639215713506.
Due to the limited number of SK volunteers manning
Talipapa Online, the online market can only accommodate deliveries two days a
week.
Deliveries for every order can only be done on Tuesdays
and Thursdays, with an order cut-off time of 4 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Padrid hopes that the SK will be able to deliver more throughout the week to help households who can’t afford to buy in big quantities.
"For me, a twice a week delivery set-up does not
cater to all kinds of households in our municipality. We know that not everyone
is capable of storing food that is good for 3 to 4 days long. We know that not
all houses have a refrigerator to store food and not all are fortunate to buy
food that will last for 2 or more days," he said.
The SK and its volunteers also plan to extend the project
beyond the lockdown and reach more people in the municipality.
“We hope that most of Bayeños use this as an option to
buy essential goods, so the project can stand on its own in the long run,”
Padrid said. "Not all Bayeños are familiar with Talipapa Online. The reach
of our publicity is not that wide [yet] since we are only using a barangay page
and the target customer of Talipapa Online is municipal-wide.”
Even with all the hard work that goes into making the
online market happen, Talipapa Online remains a non-profit project of the SK.
"At the end of the day, we are trying to help our
community by doing one of the many ways to flatten the curve and more of just
giving choices to our households to buy food," Padrid said.
Youth involvement
Inspired by the hard work exhibited by the young
volunteers manning Talipapa Online, Padrid urged the youth to lead or join
similar efforts in their community to help.
"One concrete way is to be part of a youth volunteer
team in their nearby community to help the Sangguniang Kabataan so they can be
involved in innovative projects in fighting this pandemic," he said.
"We shall put our efforts into action as we continue to help our community
in our small ways to flatten the curve," Padrid said.
In photo: A volunteer of Talipapa Online hands over a bag of food essentials to a local customer. Photo from SK Chairman Roy Padrid.
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