_________________________ Welcome to DISOP Philippines! ________________________

Grameen Rice-Finance
(2002) by SEKAP, Inc.

Reforestation
(1998-2002) by FCI

Sustainable Agriculture
(1998-2002) by SWCF

Rice Farmers Cooperative / Carabao Dispersal
(1998-2002) by SJP

Credit Cooperative
(2000-2002) by DLRLCDFI

Women's Handicrafts (2002) / Rice Cooperative
(1996-2001) by PBSP

Vegetable Farmers Cooperatives
(1998-2002) by AKAP

Women's Wastepickers Enterprise (2001) by JVOFI

Entrepreneurs Cooperative
(1998-2002) by MRMF-TRESP

Rice Farmers Association
(2001) by FAPBAPI

Credit Cooperative
(2002) by PMPCI

THE PHILIPPINES

An archipelago in Southeast Asia, consisting of some 7,100 islands and islets lying about 500 miles off the coast. The total land area of the Philippines is 115,800 square miles (300,000 square kilometers). It is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, and the South China Sea to the west and north. The Philippines takes its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain during the Spanish colonization of the islands in the 16th century. Manila is the biggest city and the national capital. It is located on Luzon, the largest island, which has a land area of 40,420 square miles. Mindanao, at 36,537 square miles the second largest island, lies in the south.

Because it was under Spanish rule for 333 years and under U.S. tutelage for a further 48 years, the Philippines has many cultural affinities with the West. It is, for example, the fourth most populous country in which English is an official language and the only predominantly Roman Catholic country in Southeast Asia. Its peoples, however, are Asian in consciousness and in aspiration. In many ways Filipino society is composed of paradoxes, perhaps the most apparent being the great extremes of wealth and poverty in the nation.

The Philippines is a country of rich resources, but it is in the process of developing its full potentialities. It is primarily agricultural, although a high degree of domestic and foreign investment has spurred the rapid development of its industrial potential. Educationally, it is among the most advanced of Asian countries, having a high literacy rate.