BUTUAN CITY — For years, after the sun set over Butuan, the city went quiet. The only options were a few fast‑food chains or heading home. That all changed on May 2. A vacant lot along Narra Road in Barangay Limaha has been reborn as a bustling night market, complete with food stalls, an inflatable playground for kids, and enough grilled meat to feed an entire barangay.
From Sidewalk Struggles to a Bright, Floodlit Fair
This is not a temporary pop‑up. It is a permanent shift. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its Field Office, Caraga, provided 30 local food vendors with capital grants totaling PHP900,000. The vendors, organized under the Butuan United Sustainable Livelihood Program Association (BUSLPA), used the funds to purchase uniform tents, a generator set, and standardized food stalls. Strategically situated along Narra Road in Barangay Limaha, the bustling site has been transformed into a floodlit fair, complete with adjacent family spaces like an inflatable playground for kids. DSWD Caraga Regional Director Mari‑Flor Dollaga challenged the group to grow their enterprise within the first year, with the promise of an additional PHP300,000 if they succeed, and additional grants up to the third year. For the vendors, the night market means leaving the daily grind of street peddling for a fixed, welcoming space to call their own.
More Than Just a Meal: The City's New Academy
The night market offers visitors and locals a wide array of food and produce, along with evening entertainment, giving local food vendors a venue to showcase their products. Beyond the immediate boost, the city government is establishing a Micro Small Entrepreneurs Academy to provide free training for the vendors in financial literacy, innovation, and product marketing. The goal is to ensure the enterprise grows with support not only from the DSWD but also from the city government itself. It is a direct acknowledgment that successful city living means giving small vendors the tools to scale up, not just survive.
A Place for Families to Gather
The secret weapon of the night market is the inflatable playground for kids, which turns a simple dinner run into a family night out and keeps the neighborhood active well into the evening. BUSLPA President Ronnie Mondejar has expressed gratitude for the extensive support and assured that the association will actively nurture and maximize this opportunity. For a city building its identity, the night market is an anchor for community life, a place where the smell of grilled meat mingles with the laughter of children and the chatter of neighbors reconnecting after dark.
