Technology Impact

 

Again what went right? Why is the center so successful?

 

Mr. Apanti’s holistic approach is the key to their success. He pays attention to the nitty-gritty of improving the equipment and the process.  His technical background has worked to his advantage.

 

He has developed a training and hiring scheme.  A new applicant undergoes a series of on-the-job training before he is taken in as a regular weaver.  First, he attends a one-week orientation and observation course without pay.  The second step is to undergo a one-month basic training without pay but with provision for traveling allowance.  Should the applicant decide to pursue, she proceeds to the next level, a three-month training with P1,000–P1,500 per month depending on her speed.  After attaining the quality desired by the client, the applicant proceeds to the next higher level, an on-the-job training, with assigned purchase order and pay of P80 per meter.  The applicant is hired as a regular weaver when he can produce three yards per day productivity with pay of P100 per meter.

 

Commitment to quality and dignity of work has been instilled in all workers who consider work as a gift from God.

 

He takes into consideration not only the client’s needs but also the domestic and family problem of the weavers.  Mr. Apanti’s wife, Anita, had put up a day-care center to ease the weavers from worrying about their small children. 

 

Unfortunately, the greatest trial in Mr. Apanti’s life came in 2001.  Anita was one of those who died in the Manor Hotel, Quezon City tragedy while attending the Christian Seminar in Cubao, Quezon City sponsored by the Ministry of Don Clower of U.S.A. Many died in the hotel fire.

 

 

The greater impact was with the weavers for the loss of an adviser, a counselor, and a friend whom they could approach anytime of the day for all kinds of problems which Mr. Apanti could not replace.

 

Life, after the fatal incident, had to go on and so Mr. Apanti persevered the way his wife Anita would like him to do if she were alive.  Meanwhile, his daughter, Athena, who has a B.S. Education degree, is now managing the day-care center established by her mother.

 

Mr. Apanti is very grateful for his constant free consultation sessions with PTRI on raw material quality, colormatching, equipment and fabric design, and product quality. According to him, the institute’s willingness to be of service helped him, especially during the center’s difficult beginnings.

 

Through PTRI’s S&T intervention, Catanduanes has come to be known for quality exportable abaca fabrics. In fact, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (Catanduanes) referred to Baras as the emerging industrial capital of the province because of its handloom weaving industry. And the rest is history.