Background
Economic development continues to be very difficult in many rural and geographically isolated communities in Camarines Sur, Philippines, which is 300Km South of Manila. Research on local economic activities, especially entrepreneurial development, is anecdotal consisting mostly of isolated case studies of single or clustered businesses.
This study delimits its scope in the 1st and 2nd district of Camarines Sur, which is under the Diocese of Libmanan. Moverover, this study wishes to understand the “model building” of Caritas Diocese of Libmanan in alleviating poverty and sustaining its innovative retailing thru its Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) Retail Store using an Automated Teller Machine, that can be accessed via a debit/credit card, which is the first to be offered for low income community.
Moreover, this study offers opportunity for greater understanding of the Caritas Diocese of Libmanan’s (CDL) innovative retailing and entrepreneurial competency of the BEC members that can be echoed in other Diocese in the Bicol Region or in the whole of the Philippines. Further, it is important to pinpoint the relevant marketing and enterprise development learning areas that must be thoroughly learned by the BEC members so as to appropriately respond to their needs as “Christian-Social” entrepreneurs in a globalized-knowledge-based economy.