Solsona mobile vendors get 20 units of nego-karts

A nego-kart vendor in Solsona. (Lei Adriano)

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

Solsona, Ilocos Norte—Ambulant vendors struggle to make both ends meet. This time though, the Nego Kart Association of Solsona are inspired to keep going.

Thanks to the local government unit of Solsona in cooperation with the Public Employment Service Office and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for giving away at least 20 units of nego-kart or the so-called “Negosyo sa Kariton”, a bicycle unit with a side car which can contain various goods such as fruits and vegetables including street foods sold in front of schools, government buildings and households among others.

At the opening of the Gameng Village on Jan. 30, several ambulant vendors with their brand new nego-karts displayed their merchandise here as local residents, guests and visitors bought from them.

For Carmela Aguinaldo, one of the vendors in one of the schools here, she said the nego-kart livelihood assistance project is helpful to them who cannot afford a personal service vehicle to transport their products.

Inspired by the DOLE’s nego-kart livelihood assistance project, the PESO and the Solsona government led by Mayor Jonathan de Lara merged to help grow the ambulant vendors’ existing livelihood to develop them into a sustainable and profitable business.

Prior to the distribution, the recipients organized themselves into what is now known as the Nego-Kart Vendors Association of Solsona for them to be entitled with various livelihood assistance programs offered by the government.

The DOLE’s ‘Nego-Kart’ project is still a part department’s effort to provide more jobs and assist the unemployed.

Meant to improve the lives of many hard working, but low-income vendors, the ‘nego-karts’ project provides vendors the opportunity to increase, upgrade, and diversify their products and services, and market these to more buyers or customers in the community.