The Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood Education (BTLEd) Program of Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University – South La Union Campus (DMMMSU-SLUC) continues to expand its community outreach through Project STITCH (Skills Training Initiative in Technology for Community and Home Economics), with new food processing trainings conducted in the municipalities of Tubao and Sto. Tomas, La Union.

On April 1, 2025, three BTLEd faculty members held a training session at the Tubao Multipurpose Cooperative Hall, catering to 33 participants. The session addressed community-identified needs for rice coffee production and tomato jam processing through lectures and hands-on demonstrations covering safe food handling, processing techniques, and product packaging.

A similar initiative followed on May 1, 2025, at the Barangay Multi-Purpose Hall in Namboongan, Sto. Tomas, where 26 youth participants, mostly members of the Sangguniang Kabataan, received training on rice coffee, coconut vinegar, and bottled sardines production. Project STITCH remains the flagship extension program of the BTLEd department, rooted in findings from the 2018 study “State of Micro Food Business in Agoo” by Program Chair Dr. Veronica B. Carbonell. The project aims to provide needs-based, sustainable livelihood training to empower local communities through home-based food enterprises. (By Ronald Bustos)