A joint project of Aboitiz Foundation, Aboitiz – Government Relations and Pilmico Foods Corporation, The Noble Bakers program facilitated the bakery training of wounded and differently-abled soldiers of Armed Forces of the Philippines or the Noble Bakers.

A total of 60 soldiers underwent a comprehensive Bakery Management training at Pilmico Research and Training Bakery, covering key topics including: wheat milling, bread & load production, bakery calculations as well as hand-on baking of bread, pastries, noodles, cookies and cakes.

In December 2017, the Noble Bakers opened their very own bakery inside Fort Magsaysay serving their fellow army colleagues as well as nearby villages with their tasty breads and pastries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is vocational rehabilitation through baking particularly well-suited for wounded soldiers?
Baking is a skilled trade that requires precision, patience, and systematic process-following — cognitive and organizational qualities that military training instills. It can accommodate a range of physical abilities and disability types, making it accessible to soldiers with varying service-related injuries. The bakery environment is structured and team-oriented — consistent with military culture. And the product — bread — is a universal, high-demand commodity that does not require specialized marketing. Each of these factors makes baking a thoughtfully appropriate vocational pathway for the particular population it serves.

What is the Noble Bakers Project and who runs it?
The Noble Bakers Project is a joint initiative by Aboitiz Foundation, Aboitiz Government Relations, and Pilmico Foods Corporation. It provides comprehensive Bakery Management training to wounded and differently-abled soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines — known as the Noble Bakers. A total of 60 soldiers underwent training at Pilmico’s Research and Training Bakery, covering wheat milling, bread and loaf production, bakery calculations, and hands-on baking of bread, pastries, noodles, cookies, and cakes.

What happened after the training was completed?
In December 2017, the Noble Bakers opened their own bakery inside Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. The bakery serves fellow army colleagues and residents of neighboring villages with bread and pastries produced by the soldier-bakers. The bakery is operational with a captured market — guaranteed demand from within the military reservation and surrounding communities — providing a stable customer base that reduces the typical business risk faced by new enterprises.

What was the structure of the training program the soldiers received?
The training was comprehensive and multi-topic: it covered the science of wheat milling, the technical processes of bread and loaf production, bakery business calculations, and extensive hands-on practice in baking bread, pastries, noodles, cookies, and cakes. The breadth of topics — spanning both the production and the business management sides of bakery operation — reflects an intention to equip the soldier-bakers not just to bake but to run a sustainable bakery enterprise.

How does the Noble Bakers bakery benefit the families of wounded soldiers?
According to Socom Deputy Commander Col. Rey Aquino (as described in the companion “From Noble Warriors to Noble Bakers” article), the proceeds from the Noble Bakers bakery go to the Socom Foundation Inc., which supports wounded personnel and their family members during hospitalization and recovery. This means the bakery functions as a social enterprise — its commercial revenues directly fund welfare services for wounded soldiers and their dependents, creating a self-sustaining support mechanism rather than one that depends on ongoing external donations.