­Feature

Dreaming Enterprise

Jeanevive Duron-Abangan

Dreaming for improvement in life is a free enterprise. This desire has inspired most micro entrepreneurs to scale up their enterprises.  They dream big despite their old age and lack of finances.  They remain unfazed despite the absence of technological expertise.

They’re glad of the One-Town One-Product (OTOP) program for fanning the flame of their desire. It assists them in striking improvements of their products which serve as their vehicle towards the realization of their dreams.

In a field visit with officers of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Davao del Norte field office, I met OTOP producers of Tikog handicrafts,  banana chips, vinegar and banana flour in the municipalities of New Corella,  Asuncion and Kapalong.

Grass into mats

Our first stop was at the simple abode of Engr. Joaquin Ilagan in Barangay Limbaan, New Corella.  Little did I know that the man in his 60s is the producer of Tikog mats exclusively sold at SM Malls nationwide.

 

He  also weaves Tikog  into hats, bags, hammocks, lamp-stand and slippers.  He vies not only for local and national markets, but also for international markets. DTI sends him to showcase Philippine-made products during national and international trade fairs .

A mechanical engineer by profession, he has retired early from government service as a worker of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).  For 18 years now, he devotes his time and energy into his Tikog handicraft products that bear  the trade name, Silagan Handicraft.

Together with his wife Clara Silagan who will soon retire from her government work  as the Alternative Learning System (ALS) District Coordinator of New Corella,  he is  dreaming of crossing countries with his Tikog mats and handicrafts.

“Banig lang ang akong gisaligan. (I am banking only on my mats),”  he said.

               

He hangs on to his dream  though the local supply of Tikog is dwindling as swampy areas where  such grass grows, have been planted with bananas.

Silagan now gets a 50-kilo supply of Tikog locally in a month.  He buys much of his Tikog raw materials from Kalingayan,  Bayugan in Agusan. He continues to look for more supply to meet the demand for his Tikog mats and handicrafts.

After listening to the story of his feat as one of the members of the Philippine Exhibitors, we turned our way to Buklad in  the Municipality Asuncion to  see how  members of Buclad Tribal Council were progressing in their vinegar and coco-shell handicraft-making.  

Waste water turned vinegar

We were met by the young Mandaya  chieftain of Buclad Tribal Council, Joel Andoy, 41 years of age.   He confessed of having dreamed of bringing forth a much better life for his tribal council members among whom were Dibabawon,  Mangguwangan,  Muslim other than Mandaya.

Indigenous women in Buklad used to have  no productive undertakings, but now they are into vinegar and coco-shell accessories production.  This is an offshoot to the partnership that the tribal council has tied up with St. Mary’s College Business Resource Center (SMC-BRC), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and DTI.

A vinegar production house now stands in their community, making use of the coconut juice that used to be just thrown away when producing copra.  Mang Bernard Aquino, 66 years of age, goes around the  nearby coconut plantations to collect  the coco juice to be fermented into vinegar. While some women helps in fermenting and the bottling of vinegar, others are into production of coco shell-craft made into accessories and handicraft items.

“Kung mag tapok-tapok sila karon, aduna nay panginabuhian  nga gibuhat. (When they come together now, they are into livelihood production.),” Andoy said as he conveyed thanks to partner agencies  which extended values education and  entrepreneurship training  to  the  members of his tribal council.

After Buclad, we pushed our way to Barangay Semong in  the Municipality Kapalong  to know more about the OTOP venture of AMS Employees Fresh Fruit Producers Cooperative (AMSEFFPCO).  We were met by AMSEFFPCO Chairperson Anselma Ronquillo who was then entertaining visitors from New Zealand.

Fresh banana to flour

Aside from producing fresh bananas for export , AMSEFFPCO widens its business ventures to food-grade flour production to make the most of the huge market demand.  It used to supply the  Universal Food Corp (UFC) about 60 tons of food-grade flour from 2007 to 2009. Ronquillo wishes such demand to come again as it means more business opportunities for the cooperative.

            AMSEFFPCO is working to get a Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) certification as proof of assurance that the flour which it is producing is beyond doubt:  safe for public consumption. AMSEFFPCO eyes not only the big food companies but the supermarkets so it can widely sell its banana flour which bears the trade name, “Musa”.

            While complying with the stringent standards of BFAD, Ronquillo takes comfort from the support given by OTOP cooperating agencies particularly DTI and DOST which have continually assisted AMSEFFPCO improve its product as well as its labeling. Department of Agriculture-Mindanao Rural Development Program (DA-MRDP) is  also awarding it a P1.5 million worth solar dryer .

           While discussing flour,  I thought of asking her about banana chips production.  Ronquillo, however,  referred me to Aling Yeyeng, an AMSEFFPCO member who, Ronquillo said, got so serious of such venture.

             

Banana chipper

“Bisan ug tiguwang nako ma’am,  gusto pa ko molambo akong kinabuhi (Though old, I still  want to improve my life.)

            Aling Yeyeng told us about having acquired a machine for banana chips production. She expressed gladness of the assistance from DOST which helped her with product labeling as she showed us the list of her orders for Manila and for local cafeterias.

            However, she has the same fate with AMSEFFPCO. She needs to get  the BFAD certification before she can commercially mass produce and sell in supermarkets her Yeyeng Banana Chips .

               

Lazaga whom we fondly called “Ma’am Nice” took me to just few of more than 30 OTOP entrepreneurs in Davao del Norte.  Lazaga explained that DTI registers under OTOP program those entrepreneurs engaged in the production, processing , marketing  and services related to  the featured product in a town or city.

Other than the towns we visited, Talaingod banners Cardava Banana as its OTOP;  Braulio E. Dujali, organic rice; Island Garden City of Samal, mango;  San Isidro, cacao; Tagum City, banana chips. Panabo City  along with Sto. Tomas, Carmen are into banana flour production.

I may not have gotten in touch with other OTOP entrepreneurs, but  I have taken a glimpse of how they valiantly push for the improvement of their micro enterprise. Their  hearts  are filled with hopes that their lives would get better as they continuously upgrade their products. (Jeanevive Duron-Abangan, PIA-11)