The government has launched the Caraga Fabrication Laboratory at the Caraga State University, the first facility of its kind in the region that is now open to the public, particularly the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Funded through the Department of Trade and Industry’s Shared Service Facility (SSF) program amounting to P12 million, Caraga’s Fabrication Laboratory (FabLab) is a small-scale workshop offering digital fabrication and equipped with flexible computer controlled tools. The laboratory is meant to support and translate creative ideas into prototypes and eventual mass production.
The industry sectors in the region that are expected to benefit from the laboratory are ICT, gifts, decors and housewares, processed food, wood, creative, metal, ceramics and furniture. CSU students in the field of engineering, information technology, agricultural sciences and natural resources, arts and sciences can also use the facility.
DTI Caraga regional director Brielgo O. Pagaran emphasized the importance of the FabLab in the local economy of Caraga.
In his speech during the launch, Pagaran said that products from Caraga are not in the market due to the lack of a “state-of-the-art” facility to mass produce prototypes. With the FabLab, Pagaran said the region can now address this issue and try many more products as possible.
