CCDC’s Consumers Welfare Month links student enterprise, DTI expertise, and the future of local food systems.
In the Cordillera, food is livelihood, heritage, and community. Yet many farmers and food producers struggle to turn good harvests into sustainable income because they lack current knowledge, practical skills, and appropriate technology.
During the Consumers Welfare Month 2025 at the Cordillera Career Development College (CCDC) through the College of Business Education and Administration (CBEA), held under the theme “Bida ang Konsyumer sa Bagong Pilipinas.” From October 24 to 29, Entrepreneurship students developed, packaged, and sold their own products at the campus Open Lounge, practicing costing, pricing, customer engagement, sales negotiation, and financial tracking.
On October 29, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) led a two-part workshop for 60 students, four CBEA faculty members, and two guests. Masterclass 1 covered product labeling and packaging, including branding regulations and compliance-based labeling. Masterclass 2 focused on product creation through resin jewelry making.
These skills matter beyond the classroom. Many small producers in Benguet and across the Cordillera make jams, dried goods, coffee, and root-crop products, yet weak branding, inconsistent labeling, and substandard packaging keep them from wider markets. Proper labeling builds consumer trust, good packaging reduces waste, and product innovation turns surplus produce into marketable goods. To widen access, short sessions on labeling, food safety, and consumer protection, along with training in value-adding, costing, and marketing, should reach farmers’ associations and cooperatives.
The students are the region’s future entrepreneurs, extension workers, and business advisers. When they learn to value compliance, quality, and ethical enterprise, they are better prepared to serve the producers who sustain their communities. A food-secure Cordillera depends on producers who are informed, skilled, and equipped, and on schools and agencies willing to share what they know.
Culinary Competition Links Students, Farmers, and Highland Crops
Cordillera Career Development College students show how food education can support local agriculture and biodiversity
Hospitality Management and Entrepreneurship students from Cordillera Career Development College (CCDC) took top honors at the 7th Highland Vegetable and Industry Week: Vegetable Cooking Showdown on August 29, 2025, held at the College of Home Economics and Technology of Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Team Highland Flavor Feast (Yancy Kispay Asiong, Mahdi Neri, Charles Salve, Dexter Tomelden, and Kiernold Jones Baucas) won the main dish and side dish categories, and placed first runner-up for appetizer and third runner-up for beverage. Team Savor the Summit (Jety Joy Limong, Jade Kyrille Pawil, Kristian Viaña, Jomar Garcia, and Ivan Xedric Lamsis) took first runner-up in the main dish and beverage categories, second runner-up for appetizer, and third runner-up for side dish.
Beyond the medals, the competition supports efforts to keep the diversity of cultivated plants and farmed animals alive. Chefs who build menus around highland vegetables create demand for the varieties farmers grow, and that demand gives growers a reason to keep diverse crops in the field rather than switching to a narrow set of commercial types.
The 2nd MSME Business Expo connects small food entrepreneurs with financial literacy, promotion support, and academic expertise
Cordillera Career Development College (CCDC) is helping emerging entrepreneurs and community-based businesses gain a stronger footing by providing financial assistance, practical knowledge, and market opportunities. Many of these small enterprises are rooted in local farms and food production, where good products often struggle to reach buyers.
On March 24, 2025, CCDC held the 2nd MSME Business Expo: Promoting and Building Partnerships at the Student Open Lounge and Tupayya Complex. The program featured a Home-Based Negosyo Demonstration on coffee brewing and a session on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Development (IED) for financial literacy and consultation.
To support participating entrepreneurs, CCDC provided ₱33,000 in financial assistance for marketing and promotional expenses, helping them showcase their products and reach potential customers. Faculty from the College of Business Education and Administration, College of Administration, College of Law, and the Graduate School took part, linking academic expertise with practical enterprise development.
Food security depends on more than growing enough. Producers also need the knowledge to manage money, the skills to add value to what they grow, and the visibility to reach buyers. By offering financial literacy, consultation, and promotional support, the expo brings these resources within reach of small producers, who often lack them. The coffee brewing demonstration also shows how a local crop can become a home-based business.
To build on this, CCDC and its partners can extend short trainings on food safety, packaging, sustainable farming practices, and appropriate processing technology to farmers’ associations and cooperatives, so that more producers benefit.
