Basilan, BARMM – The Bangsamoro Government’s Ministry of Science and Technology recognized twenty-six (26) grassroots innovations through the SalikLakbay Solutions Mapping Immersion on September 28, 2023, in this province.

Prior to this, MOST facilitated the SalikLakbay Solutions Mapping Trainer’s Training for participants or SalikLakbayers from Basilan State College, Balay Mindanaw Foundation Incorporated, Provincial Government of Basilan, The Kasilasa Center, and Student Action Force Voluntarily Community Service on September 27, 2023.

The training aimed to introduce the Grassroots Innovation for Inclusive Development (GRIND) Program and identify grassroots innovations in the Municipality of Sumisip.

Amira Salik, Project Technical Assistant III, discussed the GRIND program with the participants and emphasized the goal of seeking grassroots innovations or developed solutions that the community has utilized for sustainability. Once identified, MOST, through the GRIND Program, will support the GIs by providing S & T interventions funded by the program.

“Our goal is to identify the needs, issues, and opportunities by seeking solutions developed by the people, often not recognized or overlooked. This also allows us to consider the context, culture, and emotions of the people, shifting our perspective from demographics to psychographics,” Salik said.

“Through the GRIND program, we aim to empower marginalized communities by developing and strengthening their Grassroots Innovations,” she added.

Meanwhile, on September 28, the participants or Lakbayers identified 26 GIs from the Yakan and Samal tribes through immersions conducted in Brgy. Manaul and Langaray in Sumisip. Some of the identified GIs include wooden bicycles, pump boat making, coconut and cassava grinders, bamboo baskets, sea mantis traps, handmade planers, rubber tapping knives, motorized pedicabs, karitons, net fishing, and many more.

The identified GIs will be evaluated and then supported with S & T interventions based on priority, either in the form of supplied materials or equipment, to help produce more efficient grassroots innovations.

The activity was also facilitated with the assistance of Provincial S & T Center – Basilan led by Provincial Head Arfie Edris, Abdul Amir Jahanan, and other PSTC personnel.

The GRIND Program is a strategy to empower marginalized communities and address the effects of COVID-19 and the New Normal. It is a pioneering initiative of DOST Region XI in partnership with the United Nations Development Program in the Philippines (UNDP Philippines) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), aimed at providing opportunities to stimulate the overall growth of the country by utilizing community-led solutions geared towards sustainable development.

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