ECONOMY OF CAOAYAN, ILOCOS SUR

Due to its geographical location, fishing has been the main source of livelihood of
the inhabitants. Next is agriculture where farmers planted onions, tomatoes, rice
and corn bound. The town is also known for its loom-weaving industry which dates
back before Spanish regime. Palafox and Associates have declared Caoayan as
the fish-bowl and onion basket of Ilocos Sur.
Boat-sailing was one of the major industries of Caoayan but was eased out as
means of transportation with the onset of modern highways especially those
connecting the Ilocos provinces to Manila and the Cagayan Valley. The provincial
government has recognized the Caoayano skill by awarding locals who are
engaged in boat-making and calesa-manufacturing as living legends of Ilocos Sur.
Currently, LGU-Caoayan has launched the country's first ever One-Barangay,
One-Product (OBOP) program. Although its official One-Town, One-Product
(OTOP) as per DTI's initiatives is Abel Iloko, only 5 out of the 17 barangays are
into loom-weaving. Under Mayor Goulart, the OBOP was designed to give all
barangays equal economic development opportunity. Under this program, non-
Abel Iloko barangays are empowered to adopt their respective OBOPs depending
on the raw materials that are indigenous and abundant in their communities.
The OBOP has now produced a wide array of local products: processed Rosangis
(clam shells), Bagoong Ipon, native Cakes and Delicacies, processed peanuts,
Pickled Singkamas (turnips), Smoked Tilapia, Corn Husk souvenir items, Water
Lily handicrafts, Smoked/De-boned Bangus (milkfish), with others that are
following soon. Abel Iloko weavers have also undergone training programs that will
enable them to come up with high-end Abel outputs.
Caoayan is also presently riding on the coattails of Vigan, which has been declared
as one of the new 7 wonder cities of the world. To be able to get a fair share of the
city's tourist influx, Caoayan opened the Pinakbet Farm in Barangay Nansuagao,
offering the quintessential Ilokano dish - Pinakbet - as its centerpiece. Currently
opened is the Caoayan Choco Surf Point in Barangay Manangat, a resort-type
destination that offers surfing and other water-based sports classes, rejuvenating
massage and the Black Sand exfoliating rub, and the resto-bar that offers drinks
and seafood paella as the chef's choice. These tourism-based projects have been
launched to achieve the town's vision of improving all Caoayanos' standard of
living through additional revenue and employment generation.

Sources:
Office of the Tourism Officer, Caoayan, Ilocos Sur
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caoayan