In 2017, the Municipality of Taytay in the Province of Rizal was fast becoming a center of commerce second only to Cainta. The presence of artisans like woodworkers and seamstresses made it a potential hub for specialized goods. However, many of these skilled workers barely made enough money to feed their large families, often with more than four members.

The centers established by Grameen Pilipinas Microfinance, Inc. in the province grew with the increasing number of borrowers. GPMI enabled home-based wives to help their husbands increase the family income through sewing skills training, entrepreneurial mentoring and microfinancing. But building up on skills and borrowing money did not always result to better earnings, which was the case with the ragmakers of Taytay. 

The solution was to develop cooperation withing the community of rag manufacturers so that they spend less on raw materials and earn more by directly supplying volumes of the product to an end user like Oceana Gold Philippines, Inc. During the partnership with Oceana Gold, the GDP of the communi ty significantly improved.