About the Organisation

Tical Tribal Multipurpose Cooperative, a small-scale coconut farmers’ organisation began its journey in 1994, when a small group of coconut farmers in Davao Occidental (Municipality of Malita)—a coastal, fertile region in the southern Philippines—came together out of a simple desire: to improve their livelihoods and sell coconuts at a fair local price. Every member brought with them half a hectare of land, modest gardening skills and tools, and a long-held hope that unity could open doors that individual farmers could not.

Today, the cooperative has grown into a strong community of 107 farmer members—54 women and 53 men—who collectively produce more than 10,000 tons of coconuts each year, with every member cultivating 1 to 3 hectares of land.

With the Fairtrade Premium as their shared resource and their collective voice as their guide, TICAL began investing in projects that strengthened both livelihoods and community resilience. The members established a Fairtrade Premium Committee, composed of seven board directors (four women and three men), three audit members, and key cooperative officers including the secretary, treasurer, manager, and farmer representatives, to ensure transparent and democratic decision-making.

The Committee meet quarterly to review the cooperative’s needs, evaluate proposals, and vote on how Premium funds should be allocated. Every investment and decisions are discussed openly, ensuring that investments reflect real community priorities. 

Fairtrade Premium Impact: A Journey of Collective Strength and Community Progress

Malita stands as one of the coconut-rich belts of southern Mindanao, where warm, humid weather and fertile volcanic soil create the perfect environment for coconut palms to flourish. The region’s consistent rainfall allows the trees to thrive naturally without irrigation, while intercropping with bananas enriches the soil and offers farmers an important secondary source of income.

TICAL’s farms are 100% organic and certified by Control Union, ensuring that every nut harvested reflects sustainable, chemical-free cultivation. Whole nut is harvested once in every 75 days, but with Fairtrade support, each cycle now carries a sense of stability and purpose for the farmers. 

The Truck: 3 Tons of Opportunity Every Week

Yet for all their hard work, getting coconuts to the cooperative used to be one of their toughest challenges. Farmers had to travel 1–3 kilometers from scattered farms using motorcycles or even horses, often managing to bring no more than 100 kilos a week. This limited not just income but opportunity. Recognizing the need to ease this burden, the cooperative decided to invest their Fairtrade Premium in purchasing their first heavy duty truck. This single decision changed everything. Today, the truck carries up to 3 tons of coconuts each week—tripling efficiency, reducing labour, cutting transport costs, and giving every farmer, even those in the remotest or steepest areas, a fair and equal chance to earn and grow.

Tree-Planting for a Safer Future: Strengthening Climate Resilience in Malita

Malita, despite its natural richness, is also highly vulnerable to extreme weather. Flash floods strike often during the monsoon season, while the summer months bring long dry spells that drain soil moisture and stress young coconut trees. In 2023, a severe flash flood swept through the area near TICAL, affecting 24 households and forcing families to seek refuge in the nearby government evacuation centres. Farmlands were left waterlogged and damaged, with debris and thick silt burying young seedlings, while repeated storms weakened even the tallest coconut palms. For small-scale farmers, these climate shocks are far more than disruptions—they can wipe out an entire season’s income in a single day. This growing threat made resilience, sustainability, and climate preparedness core priorities for TICAL.

In response, the cooperative launched a major tree-planting initiative in 2022, planting more than 500 Narra trees across flood-prone areas. These trees help reduce soil erosion, prevent landslides, serve as natural buffers during flash floods, and enrich local biodiversity. For the farmers, planting trees became both an act of healing after past disasters and a proactive step toward protecting their land, livelihoods, and community for the future.

Expansion of a secure 8 × 12 ft. commodity warehouse

In addition the farmers frequently lost portions of their harvest to sudden rains, extreme heat, and storms because they had no secure place to store freshly picked coconuts. When disasters struck, spoilage was unavoidable, and hard-earned income simply disappeared. With Fairtrade Premium funds, TICAL expanded the existing warehouse into 8×12-foot to safeguard crops from damage, bad weather, and even robbery. Today, this warehouse can hold more than 20 tons of coconuts, providing farmers with a safe, dry space to properly dry and sort their produce. During heavy rains and storms, it stands as a vital shield—protecting harvests, preserving income, and giving farmers the security they once lacked.

Additional Investment for Marketing and sustaining certification

Then, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cooperative recognized an urgent need: food security. Many families were struggling with low income and unemployment, markets were closed, and mobility was limited. TICAL used part of the Fairtrade Premium to distribute food packs to every member household. What could have been months of uncertainty became a moment of solidarity, where no family had to choose between safety and survival.

As economic disruptions continued, the cooperative also invested in strengthening its own resilience. Additional marketing capital was allocated to sustain coconut trading activities despite fluctuating demand and transportation delays. This support stabilized operations and protected member incomes in a volatile period.

Fairtrade certification has always been essential for TICAL’s growth—it opens access to global markets, ensures transparent pricing, and strengthens long-term trading partnerships. During the COVID-19 crisis, when sales dropped and income became uncertain, members decided to allocate a portion of their Fairtrade Premium to help cover certification costs. This collective action ensured that TICAL remained certified, operational, and resilient at a time when many cooperatives struggled to stay afloat.

Each project—large or small—carried the same message: development is strongest when it is community-led. Every initiative funded through the Fairtrade Premium had reached all 107 members (54 women and 53 men), ensuring that benefits were shared equitably.

TICAL’s story is, at its heart, the story of smallholder coconut farmers who refused to be defined by hardship. With limited land, unpredictable weather, and the constant weight of market uncertainty, they chose resilience over resignation. Every project built through the Fairtrade Premium—every tree planted, every harvest protected, every kilometer made easier by the truck—carries the fingerprints of their determination. And behind that resilience stand the conscious consumers and committed buyers who choose Fairtrade products, ensuring that dignity, fairness, and opportunity reach even the most remote farms of Malita. With each purchase, they become part of this transformation, helping farmers secure a stable livelihood and strengthening a community that continues to rise—rooted deeply in the land, and growing confidently toward a better future.