The Women Development and Technology Institute (WDTI) had conducted a study on the socio-economic conditions of women in Barangay Katipunan, Panabo, Davao del Norte in 1991, and later implemented the “Women and Technology” program engaged in sustainable agriculture and appropriate technology.

This led to the birth of the Kababayen-an Alang sa Teknolohiya nga Haum sa Kinaiyahan ug Kauswagan (Empowering Women Through Appropriate Technology in Harmony with the Environment) or KATAKUS. When WDTI ended its program in Davao, the  staff and women leaders who had become involved in the program decided to pursue its development work in Davao, and established KATAKUS as an independent organization in 1996.

KATAKUS core program is sustainable agriculture, where farmers are trained on environmentally-friendly and gender-fair farming technologies that are appropriate to their conditions and maximize locally available raw materials. [next]