CONFLICT TO CAPITAL | Former Rebels’ Farmers Org Prepares for Rice, Grocery Enterprise

MAKILALA, NORTH COTABATO—For former rebels rebuilding their lives outside the armed struggle, peace is not only measured by silence in the mountains. Sometimes, it is measured in ledgers, inventory lists, daily sales, and the discipline to protect every peso entrusted to a community.

Members and officers of the Makilala Integrated Peace Advocates Farmers Association (MIPAFA) participated in a Financial Literacy Orientation as part of preparations for the launch of their Rice Retail and Grocery Project this July.

Held at the LGU Makilala Conference Room, the orientation equipped participants with practical lessons on financial management, bookkeeping, capital preservation, business planning, and responsible handling of income and expenses.

The session was facilitated by Ms. Grace Cagang, Field Officer of the PAMANA Program, a government peace and development initiative that supports conflict-affected communities through livelihood, reintegration, and community-based projects.

For MIPAFA, the training was more than a routine seminar. It was part of the harder, quieter work of transformation: learning how to run a collective enterprise with transparency, accountability, and shared responsibility.

Participants were reminded that livelihood assistance can only become sustainable when members treat the project not as a one-time grant, but as a common resource that must be protected, grown, and managed with discipline.

Organizers said the Rice Retail and Grocery Project is expected to provide an additional source of livelihood for MIPAFA members and their families. More than income, however, the project is also seen as a test of organizational maturity for a group composed of peace advocates and former conflict-affected community members.

The activity is part of the enterprise’s opening, including the completion of documentary requirements, capacity-building seminars, and store preparations.

MIPAFA leaders expressed appreciation to the PAMANA Program for its continued assistance in helping former rebels and peace advocates move toward productive, legal, and sustainable livelihoods.

Their journey reflects a wider lesson from former rebel communities: reintegration does not end when a person leaves the armed movement. It continues in the daily work of earning honestly, rebuilding trust, strengthening organizations, and proving that change can be pursued without violence.

For many former rebels, community enterprises like this answer one of the most difficult questions after surrender: what comes next?

In Makilala, the answer is taking shape through rice sacks, grocery shelves, financial records, and a farmers’ organization determined to stand on its own feet.

As the project moves closer to its official opening, MIPAFA members remain hopeful that the enterprise will become not only a livelihood source, but also a model of self-reliance, cooperation, and peace taking root at the grassroots.