Participants and facilitators alongside Coron agriculture committee chair Ma. Aurora Riceli Balbutan, Coron Inland District Public Schools District Supervisor Christine Heidi Garcellano, and SEARCA Program Specialist Anna Gale Vallez
CORON, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division Office of Palawan, convened a workshop to craft an upscaling strategy and conduct the end-of-project evaluation for the School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise (SHGBEE) project in Busuanga Island.
Held on 23–25 September 2025, the event gathered 32 participants , including representatives from local government units, school heads, principals, and focal persons for the Gulayan sa Paaralan Program (GPP) from both pilot and adopted schools across the island.
From left: Hon. Ma. Aurora Riceli Balbutan delivers her welcome remarks, Ms. Christine Heidi Garcellano gives her opening remarks, and Ms. Anna Gale Vallez provides the overview and mechanics of the workshop.
Coron municipal agriculture committee chair Ma. Aurora Riceli Balbutan, opened the workshop with a message of support, lauded the project's achievements, and underscored the value of sustained collaboration with SEARCA. Coron Inland District Public Schools District Supervisor Christine Heidi Garcellano, highlighted the importance of knowledge sharing and collective planning to ensure the project's long-term success. Program Specialist Anna Gale Vallez at SEARCA's Research and Thought Leadership Department provided an overview of the project milestones and workshop mechanics.
During the sessions, participants reviewed notable accomplishments under SHGBEE and engaged in exercises designed to sustain outcomes. As part of the capacity-building activities, they were introduced to the Business Model Canvas—a strategic management tool comprising four interlocking elements that support the creation and delivery of value—and were guided in mapping key partners, key resources, and distribution channels essential for scaling the project's initiatives.
Participants during one of the workshop sessions.
In addition, the concept of Personal Entrepreneurial Competencies (PECs) was introduced as a framework to enhance participants' entrepreneurial mindset and capacity for innovation. This exercise aimed not to increase self-awareness and to support the application of entrepreneurial skills to strengthen project implementation, foster sustainability, and develop innovative approaches that could benefit both schools and communities.
The participants were also reoriented on the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tool that will be used to assess the performance of school gardens. SEARCA is working towards standardizing this tool, with the goal of securing its approval and institutional adoption by the DepEd Central Office.
DepEd Palawan GPP Coordinator Bryan Dale Gabo discusses the reintroduction of the M&E tool.
The participants and facilitators were seen holding hands and singing the community song.
The workshop closed on a note of unity, with participants sharing reflections and sing a community song that symbolized their collective commitment to sustain and expand the SHGBEE Project. As Hon. Balbutan mentioned, the activity reaffirmed the strong partnership among SEARCA, DepEd, local government units, and the communities of Busuanga Island in advancing food security, education, and biodiversity conservation.