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Keywords

Bagong Barrio Multi-Purpose Cooperative, cooperativism, garment industry, Pandi, Bulacan, social capital

Abstract

“One Town, One Product” (OTOP) is a program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that aims to identify a product that every town in the Philippines can be proud of that is rooted in the culture, resources, and creativity of its local community. In Pandi, Bulacan, the specialized garments gown and barong were designated as the town’s OTOP through the initiatives of Bagong Barrio Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BBMPC). Overall, this study aims to investigate how BBMPC’s spirit of cooperativism has been instrumental in promoting a local garment industry from the lens of organizational social capital which is anchored in the idea of humanistic governance. To accomplish this, the researchers interviewed three key informants—three managers who are considered pillars of the cooperative. The paper’s discussion is divided into two substantive sections: 1) a brief institutional history of BBMPC and 2) the dimensions of BBMPC’s social capital (i.e., trust, networks, and rules and norms). In the end, the study showed that the vitality of BBMPC’s Disenyo Pandi Wedding Depot is concrete evidence of promoting a local garment industry in Pandi, Bulacan. It also contributes to the conservation of a cultural heritage, the traditional Filipino clothing, and to the local tourism of Pandi. But the continued development of Disenyo Pandi would not have been possible without the spirit of cooperativism—the collaboration and camaraderie of BBMPC’s managers, staff, and member

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