DOST Supports the Cacao Industry Development in Biliran Province

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Have you ever dreamt of indulging yourself into a mouth-watering chocolate cake or truffles as a dessert after a delicious meal? Or imagined treating yourself into a luxurious chocolate spa treatment after a very stressful day? Or probably drinking a cup of hot chocolate while watching the rain drops? Well, guess what? In the year 2020, those dreams and imaginations may no longer become a reality.

Photo taken from http://chh-convest11.blogspot.com
(Goodness of Chocolate)

Chocolate is among the most loved pleasure food in the world. It is considered to create a pleasant “happy feeling” and helps reduce stress to many people who eats and smells it. To some, it serves as an excellent moisturizer and is believed to give skin a healthy glow when used as a massage cream or body scrub. However, according to Switzerland's Barry Callebaut Group, there could be a deficit in chocolate as early as 2020 due to its increasing demand while its raw material supply is decreasing. So, how is this possible?

Chocolate is a product of fermented cocoa or cacao beans. Cocoa or cacao (Theobroma cacao, L) is native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America and has been introduced as a crop in many Asian countries including the Philippines. According to The Washington Post, the norm now is that farmers produces less cocoa than the world eats, thus causing the shortage in chocolates in year 2020.

GMP and Food Safety Awareness for IMARCO

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The DOST Eastern Visayas Food Safety Team (EVFST) through the support of the Provincial S&T Center- Biliran and DAR Provincial Office Leyte-Biliran conducted a two-days training on Food Safety and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to 24 members of the Imelda Agrarian Reform Cooperative (IMARCO) on August 30-31, 2016 at the Brgy. Imelda Multipurpose Center, Naval, Biliran.

The main objective of the activity is to equip the members of the cooperative with skills and knowledge in product development based on standard good manufacturing practices and food safety measures to be able to compete in the current market, thus increasing household income.

DOST-FNRI transfers Veggie-bread techs to Biliran MSMEs

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Bread and vegetables are two distinct foodstuffs that when combined will become a powerhouse for macro and micro nutrients needed for healthy life. These two have become one through the ingenuity of Filipino food scientists, who called the formulation veggie-bread. Veggie-bread technologies are finally in the grasp of Biliran bakers and most likely to benefit the consuming public of Biliran Province by making available the delicious and most nutritious breads ever in the market.

How veggie-bread technology came into being was because of two primary reasons.

Firstly, bread, in all its forms, is considered to be the most widely consumed food in several parts of the globe including the Philippines. It has been said that bread is not only an important source of carbohydrates but it is also portable and compact which explains why it has been an integral part of our diet way back 30,000 years ago up to the present. Consumers of bread products cut across different market classes and almost all age brackets, especially in the younger age groups.

Phil Sci Opens Application for NCE 2016

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The Philippine Science High School (PSHS) System is calling all qualified and eligible graduating Grade 6 pupils to take the National Competitive Examination (NCE) on October 22, 2016. Attached below is a guide for the processing of Application Forms.

The PSHS System is mandated to offer a free scholarship for secondary course with emphasis on subjects pertaining to science with the end goal of preparing its students for careers in science and technology and was established by Republic Act 3661. From the first campus in Diliman, Quezon City in 1963, it has at present expanded into eleven campuses nationwide. The PSHS- Eastern Visayas Campus is located at Brgy. Pawing, Palo, Leyte. 

DOST 8,SEI conduct scholarship information caravan

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DOST trains Caibiranons on Decorative-Candle Making

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Decorative candles output of the training

Who would have thought that a mouth-watering dessert could turn out to be your light in the dark night? It may sound absurd but for the participants of Decorative Candle-Making Training held at Caibiran, BIliran, the process is a piece of cake and as easy as ABC. All it needs is a little passion and a touch of creativity.

A conventional candle is usually a yellow or white-colored piece of wax that is molded into cylindrical or other forms and provide light for ceremonial or for general use. Alternatively, it can be utilized for emergency purposes especially when the power is out, and the gen-set is not accessible.

But what if it can be more exciting and vibrantly colorful? Like adding a twist and make an ordinary night-light into a more decorative and enticing one sprinkled with an aromatic scent. Yes! It is possible, through the joint-effort of DOST and the Pastoral Priest of Caibiran, Biliran and its BEC members, LGU-Caibiran, DTI and DA.

The participants

A Training on Decorative Candle-Making has been conducted last May 24, 2016 at St. James the Apostle Parish, Pastoral Center, Caibiran, Biliran to hone the skills of local community and to demonstrate other possible source of income for Caibiranons. An energetic resource speaker from Manila in the person of Mr. Napoleon B. Ladines, a retired DOST-ITDI employee, shared his expertise in a fun-filled one-day activity which covered topics about the materials used for candle-making, its types and formulation plus the techniques on how to make decorative and scented candles. The most exciting part is when accessories like drinking glasses, soft drinks and halo-halo containers were used in the demonstration. The result appeared to be mouth-watering just exactly as the palatable dessert found in restaurants that viewers would not even expect, at first glance, that what they are looking at is a mere candle!

Not only that this night-light is made superficially pleasing to the eye but it was also finished with an aromatic scent that is believed to have soothing effects that is ideal for peaceful meditation, lover’s date and for a relaxing massage.

For those who are curious as to how it was done, the process on decorative candle-making is available at DOST-ITDI web link Please take note that expert’s supervision is advised for safety purposes, especially for those who will be trying it for the first time.

Further DOST intervention is anticipated to be conducted after the said activity such as the inclusion to the DOST-GIA program for the assistance on the acquisition of equipment for candle-making. This is to ensure that the livelihood activity will not just end after the training but will still be sustained and continued for the benefit of the local community.

For more information about the Trainings, Program and Services offered by DOST, feel free to visit their website thru http://dost.gov.ph/ or you may also contact DOST- Biliran Provincial Science and Technology Center at Tel/fax No. (053) 500-9347 and look for Ms. Maria Catherine G. Maniba. (Written by Ms. Gracevillalyn R. Saldo, PA-II, DOST-PSTC Biliran)

More photos from facebook.