![]() ![]() They are trained by forty five (45) full time staff and are guided by the prayers and support of twelve (12) Good Shepherd Sisters in Baguio. Mountain Maid Training CenterĪt present, the social enterprise supports the education of 370 college working students, ages 16 to 24. In view of this, the Student-Workers Program aims to empower these youth to break the cycle of poverty with their education that will give them better options and fulfill their dreams of a brighter future. There is no dignity and integrity when parents cannot feed and educate their children. ![]() ![]() The Cordilleras has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the country. Statistics reveal that a high percentage of the men reach only elementary level of education. The Cordilleras is considered among the poorest regions in the Philippines. Our mission is “to continue the redemptive mission of Jesus the Good Shepherd, of bringing about fullness of life with care and compassion, by enabling the economically challenged, deserving youth from the six tribes of the Cordilleras to live in dignity and integrity”. Are these compatible? What is the priority? When faced with choices, which takes precedence? They thought of making strawberry jam, ‘a divine inspiration’. Their realization that the mission could not be sustained without regular income gave birth to the social enterprise, that is the Mountain Maid Training Center. We now source our glass jars and metal caps from San Miguel Packaging Corporation delivered in container vans.ĭuring those difficult pioneering days, the Sisters begged from the market the unsold vegetables to feed the young girls at Pelletier Hills School, our boarding school. Our annals tell the story that when the Sisters and students first made strawberry jam over sixty years ago, they collected used glass bottles of different sizes, begged their friends to buy their jam and asked for the bottles back after the jam was consumed. At present, among the best sellers are ube jam (50% of sales), peanut & cashew brittle, lengua de gato, alfajores and angel cookies. What started as a rolling store in the 1950s grew into what it is today, a large scale social enterprise in food processing. Sister Guadalupe Bautista (above, holding a jar of the famous jam) manages the Mountain Maid project in Baguio City. The comment of many Baguio visitors is that a trip to Baguio City is not complete without bringing home the famous Good Shepherd ube jam (purple yam) as a gift or pasalubong (the Filipino cultural practice of bringing a gift from a journey). However, if you're pressed for time, you can also buy Good Shepherd products at the Public Market (though it's around PhP 20 more expensive if you buy there).An integrated holistic human development approach :) Only downside is Good Shepherd is a bit far from the city center. I always buy all of their polvoron when I visit Good Shepherd. If you've tried the Alfajor of Good Shepherd, it's like powdered Alfajor. ![]() Lastly, there is also another store for Nestle Ice Cream. They also serve strawberry-kalamansi (lime) juice for only around PhP 15, I think, and it's really refreshing and delicious! :) There is also another store just beside the view deck where you can find other healthy products for sale (turmeric, ginger tea, garlic chips, etc.). Also, they have a small store where you can buy their coffee (also civet coffee), and other baked goods. It's more expensive than other cheaper brands that you can buy in the Public Market, but you definitely get what you pay for - high quality and fresh products. I live in Baguio, but whenever we have friends/family visit us, we always take them to Good Shepherd Convent to buy their famous Ube Jam and other treats (try the Alfajor and Cashew Brittle). ![]()
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