An alternative for wooden casket-Paper casket - Information Sharing

Anunfortunate occasion and was aggravated by costly burial services especially to a poor family of minimum wage earners and its a \"crisis to have death struct to them.The cheapest is around Php8,000.00,and in order for them to complete their fund for bury the dead they allow to make the wake as venue for gambling for more days and even to lasts for weeks.The families are informal settlers for over 20 years in barangay Molino,Bacoor town,Cavite,until portion of property was awarded by a government mortgage program with the help of Gawad Kalinga(GK) and other sponsors group.They were able to build their houses in year 2007.Most males are construction workers,seasonal and unstable most of the time doing nothing.Their wives used to help them for earning by laundry,manicure,pedicure or even scavenging in the streets.

Providing income-generation will keep them busy and in some way diverted their idle time to a productive one instead of gambling and drinking spree.A member of Gawad Kalinga and other 7 couple members was trained in casket-making-a job,as a livelihood for them.It was been first authored more than 10 years ago, by a 71 year old Woman,which she first started a bag-making business out of woven old newspaper.She discovered it in year 1993 when her mother died and because of financial constraints,she place her in a box and later cremated it.

Paper casket uses plywood as base,woven newspaper for the sides,special laminating chemical is painted on the paper-mache while the inside is lined with a white cloth.For viewing is they put fiberglass on top,color will be determined by the clients and can be designed by flowers.45 X 75-inch is for adult size and can be woven for 4 hours.Its price is 2X cheaper than the regular wood casket which range from Php2,500.00 - Php3,000,00.each.In GK community,casket-making is an opportunity for them,for construction Php350./day and the skills they gained would be an additional income.Even the children will earn Php10.00 for every 100 strips of rolled newspaper used for the weaving.Alloting Php5,000.00 of GK from their microfinance project for the capital for them to start for a cooperative

Free session/training on bag-making as income-generating program to several communities and even to mental and jail institution was conducted.A private individual,who managed to owned a branded bag-making and having market already gave the last training for casket-making only because her daughter and son-in-law will plan to put up a business of their own.Even they're just started it,they've their first order for the paper casket from a 75 year old nun because she don't want her congregation and her family to worry when she die.-