A Case study on the social capital of the Plastikan Community in Doña Nicasia and its impact on their collective struggle for livelihood and survival.

Abstract

The Plastikan Community in Doña Nicasia is one of the many plastikan communities located in Payatas. The community's success against the demolition threat is attributed by the residents to the efforts of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap to help unite, organize, and mobilize the community members, by assisting in the formation of the Samahan ng Nagkakaisa sa Plastikan. This paper explores and examines how the social capital of the Plastikan Community in Doña Nicasia affects their collective struggle for their livelihood and survival. Using the lens of the meso-level conceptualization of social capital, the study found that with the kind of Networks Closure that the Plastikan Community is, where there is a high level of interconnectedness between and among the members of the community, and the community organizers, in addition to the efforts of the community organizers to unite and empower the residents, the higher is the level of the civic engagement. The reason behind such is that due to their similar dispositions, and their level of empowerment, the community members prioritizes the collective good over their self-serving interests. The paper concludes that the existing social capital of the Plastikan Community positively affects their collective struggle.