The Rubber Farmers of Zamboanga Sibugay Province

Rubber farmers in upper Sta. Clara were CARP beneficiaries who became owners of a plantation once owned by Good Rich, a multinational firm. When the plantation was turned over to them, prices of raw rubber or field lumps began falling for various reasons.

When DTI-Sibugay came into the picture in early 2002, the situation was at its lowest point: the industry had no direction, no leader, just farmers uncertain of the future.

Some of them had started to cut down their rubber trees and sold them as lumber, while others tried to save on production cost by using battery solution as coagulant instead of formic acid.

Still others started to double-tap their trees, eventually killing them. Field lumps were being sold at two pesos per kilogram.

The first thing the OIC of DTI Sibugay Province, Edito Lumacang, did was to gather the farmers together, lecture them on proper tapping methods, and persuade them to use formic acid again to properly coagulate their raw rubber to ensure the purity and high quality of their produce, for which they could demand a higher price.

However, when Lumacang went back after two weeks, he discovered that the farmers had not followed his instructions and were still adulterating their field lumps.

His next step was to meet with the farmers' wives, telling them basically the same things he told the farmers. It was an inspired move. The result was immediate: on his third visit, the field lumps were absolutely free of impurities. It was then time to organize the farmers into "quality circles" and give them assistance in marketing, using the Internet for price comparisons.

Thirteen quality circles were organized, eight of which strictly implemented the recommended tapping methods and coagulating solution. These eight circles, composed of 256 farmers, were the ones given marketing assistance by DTI.

DTI also sourced and distributed 30 kilograms of coagulating taps to improve the quality of raw rubber. The funding for this came from Governor George Hoper and two prominent rubber traders.

For the training component, the DTI conducted 17 quality and productivity improvement seminars for 215 farmers, upon the request of the mayors. Mayor Eric Cabarios, members of Sangguniang Panlalawigan, and LGUs of four municipalities provided the funds for these seminars.

DTI also conducted the first Provincial Small Rubber Forum and organized nine bagsakan centers, manned by the barangay chair on the barangay level and a DTI staff on the provincial level. Bidding is done one day before the rubber market day (14th and 29th of every month). The floor price offering is set by DTI based on daily rubber price bulletin in the Internet.

As the quality of the cup lumps improved, DTI invited four outside buyers to compete in the local market. Their entry raised the price of rubber from P6.50 to P14.00 per kilogram. Things have gone uphill since then. The current price is P21.00 per kilogram. Sales monitored in the bagsakan centers reached P27.83 million at the end of 2002.

This is what one farmer said: "In 2001, we were selling our field lumps at P4.80 per kilogram; today the current price is P21.00. Before, we could earn only P2,055 per hectare per month; now we earn P5,700 per hectare per month. With the three hectares that I own, I am now able to feed and educate my children better." (DTI)

Tito Mike's Food Company, Inc.

In 1998, Michael Cases left his lucrative job as project engineer in Brunei Darussalam to settle in his hometown, Dipolog City. He decided to help stem the rising tide of unemployment and solidify Dipolog's newfound status as "Sardines Capital of the Philippines." In July 1999, Tito Mike's Food Company, Inc. was born, with a workforce of four.


Now, eight more regular employees have joined the original four, augmented by more workers during the fishing season and other peak periods. The volume of fish processed rose from 40 kgs. to 600 kgs; production increased from the initial five cartons of the early days to 75 cartons.

Company clientele has extended beyond family and friends to supermarkets and specialty stores nationwide, as well as oriental and Filipino stores in the U.S.

It was the first to produce a whole line of MSG-free products in Dipolog city. The company is also accredited and certified by both the Bureau of Food and Drug (BFAD) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It also takes pride in the fact that from the start, it has operated on 100% equity.

The Dipolog School of Fisheries and the DTI have played crucial roles in Tito Mike's story. The Dipolog School of Fisheries provided technical assistance in the firm's first stages of operation. The DTI has included Tito Mike's in the Plus One Priority Program of the province.

Tito Mike's participated in the NTF 2001, where it drew the attention of two exporters, both of whom have remained valued clients. At the 2002 Asian Ethnic Food Festival, Tito Mike's was chosen by a Canadian firm, a certified CITEM VIP Buyer, to supply their requirement for sardines in jars.

Through the initiative of DTI-Zamboanga del Norte, the sardines manufacturers of Dipolog banded together to form ISDA (In-glass Sardines of Dipolog Association), which elected Mike as president for 2003-2004. Under his leadership, the association was given a grant by DOST for the purchase of two units heat shrink tunnel machines.

The group also received P500,000 under the SULONG Program, which Tito Mike used to buy raw materials such as corn oil and glass jars. These are sold to members at lower-than-regular prices. They also benefited from the recently concluded SME Caravan 2003, which featured a two-day seminar-workshop and free consultations on label/packaging design development.

Mike practices corporate responsibility and ensures that the firm does not spoil the environment. Care is taken to ensure that the creeks surrounding the firm's processing facility are kept clean for the fish and crustaceans that inhabit it. The company has an oil separator chamber that inhibits oil from flowing into these creeks. (DTI)

Silver Handicrafts

Rose Flores Nepomuceno used to work in Manila as supervising corporate accountant at the National Food Authority (NFA).

Driven by the need to raise the family's income and her desire to be her own boss and to improve the quality of life of the people in her community, Ms. Nepomuceno established Silver Handicrafts in Numancia, Aklan in 1998.


Her products include loom woven raffia rolls, placemats, throw pillow cases, woven nito trays, coasters, placemats, boxes and home furnishings.

The company has actively sought and availed of government assistance in various forms in the past couple of years.

After several years of producing traditional designs of its products, Silver Handicrafts availed of Product Development and Design Center of the Philippines (PDDCP) assistance and came up with at least 30 new designs for the National Trade Fair (NTF), Fiber Festival, CITEM, and Kalibo Ati-Atihan Product Showcase.

These new designs drew the attention of local and foreign buyers, who had placed orders through exporters based in Manila. Sales generated for January-May this year reached P364,000, representing 22% increase over last year's.

The firm has been granted P1.3 million loan by SB Corporation, which is going into the completion of its factory, showroom and office.

Ms. Nepomuceno has taken advantage of One-on-One Consultation on Market Matching and attended trainings/seminars on Business Plan Preparation, Introduction to Export & Sales Negotiation (conducted by DTI in coordination with APFTI), and the SME Forum.

Skills trainings on nitocraft, conducted in coordination with LGUs, generated almost 118 additional workers/suppliers of nito products.

Silver Handicrafts now has 208 workers (regular and seasonal), representing an increase of 147% over last year's. Monthly production capacity of the enterprise has doubled, from 500 pieces to 1000 pieces.

All these have been translated to an increase in asset size from P2.5 million for 2002 to P4.45 million, just for the period January-May 2003.

Silver Handicrafts is planning to go into on-line marketing, specifically with the U.S. market.

It also intends to participate in the Selling Mission to Canada with the Gifts, Toys and Houseware Association to increase sales performance. (DTI)

A & J Seafoods and Marine Products

If Aurora Capitulo Amagan has become a successful entrepreneur, it is because her apprenticeship began when she was only 12 years old.

Born to a poor family of nine, Aurora helped her parents feed her siblings by selling candies, tira-tira, halo-halo, leche con hielo, and fruits. She also assisted her aunt in her grocery business in Angeles, Pampanga. Her father worked as train maintenance crew and did not earn enough.

Although she was third to the eldest, she was the one who did more for the family, simply because she was the most hard working. More responsibilities were placed on her young shoulders when her mother, who was sickly, taught her how to cook for her siblings, a skill that she also used to prepare food for sale to augment family income. This same skill put her on the road that led her to her current enterprise.

Things seemed to happen to Aurora earlier than they do to most people. Married at 16 and widowed at 21, she found she had to rely on no one but herself in supporting her five children. She tried her hand at many ventures before she finally found her niche. She ran a restaurant, went into real estate sales and the beauty care business, curling hair and doing manicure and pedicure. She also became what is called a "viajera," bringing imported products entrusted to her by her late husband.

In Zamboanga, where she tried her luck in 1976, she marveled at the abundance of seafoods and marine products. She bought fresh sea cucumber and shark fins, and processed them into ready-to-cook ingredients to be sold to exotic Chinese restaurants in Manila. She also became a barter trader in Zamboanga until the big players came in.

In 1980, she went to General Santos City, where banana export was becoming a booming business. She forged a link with some farmers, agreed to provide them with seedlings, fertilizer and chemicals for farm products, on the condition that these farm inputs would be paid with the farmers’ output, which were then shipped to Manila. Many farmers benefited from this arrangement, and business was brisk.

A few years later, however, when shipment of farm products to Manila suffered due to several devastating typhoons, and delays meant profit loss, it was time to look elsewhere for other opportunities. This decision was also prompted by the entry of big corporations into the vegetable and fruit shipment business.

In 1990 Aurora and Jose, her third husband, joined forces to establish A&J Seafoods and Marine Products. Aurora initially contracted the stocks of big companies which were rejected by foreign buyers. These she sold in Manila.

In this business, nothing ever gets wasted, because although only 30 percent of each tuna can be sold for sashimi export grade, the rest can be processed into different food products. Now her products include tuna sashimi (all grades); seafoods (frozen abalone, octopus, squid, cuttlefish and assorted marine products); value-added products (longganisa, siomai, lumpia, tocino, sausage, embotido, barbeque, and patties;) and cooked fish loins.

A & J Seafoods has come a long way from the company that had initial capital of P1.5 million to a P40-million business in 2003. It now has 12 regular workers, three of whom are her children, and 50 to 100 seasonal workers.

Aurora recently availed of a Land Bank financing which she used for the ongoing construction of a processing plant at the General Santos City Fishport Complex. When completed, the plant will enable Aurora to double her production output and improve on the quality of her product.

In 2002, A & J Seafoods received the "Most Outstanding SME" in the Medium Category by the SMED Council.

A & J Seafoods has joined trade fairs, both national and international, in places like Greece and Dubai. Its market has now expanded to the US, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong and the Middle East.

When the firm was invited to display its products in the WOW Philippines exhibit in 2003, the organizers extended their stay longer than the required one week per regional exhibitor. It has also gotten a lot of mileage for being featured in the TV program The Working President.

Calbayog Smoked Fish

The Department of Science and Technology, through its Packaging R&D Center (PRDC), in collaboration with the Office of the President for the One Million Jobs, Regional Offices of DTI & DOST, and the City Government of Calbayog extended technical assistance to the smoked fish industry in Calbayog City.

Prior to this undertaking, the PRDC had initiated a packaging project with Pingping's Tinapa in Calbayog City. It was a project attuned to the thrust of President Gloria Arroyo. Her instructions to develop the packaging of Calbayog Smoked Fish therefore, simply enforced the goals and objectives of the PRDC.

Intervention of the PRDC included the development of a packaging system for smoked fish; graphic design; labeling requirements; carrier box; and a technology-based business plan. With this intervention, the smoked fish industry of Calbayog City created an impact to the economy of its City in particular.

The Office of the Mayor, Calbayog City spearheaded the operation and organization of a cooperative of fishermen dedicated to supply fish for the producers of "tinapa". The move generated additional jobs for both fishermen and tinapa producers. This resulted to an increased production, which enabled them to penetrate more and bigger markets.

The finished product came in a much-improved package that contributed to the product's extended shelf-life from 5 short days to 6 months. Their production volume increased from 2,730 to 4,095-5,460 kg/mo.

The estimated value likewise increased from P 244,800 to a range of P 367,200-489,600/mo. The product definitely became competitive and saleable to markets outside of the region and eventually, outside of the country.

Currently, the product is distributed in 10 outlets in Metro Manila; 2 outlets in Tacloban City as well as in Calbayog City.

The vacuum-packed product (after PRDC intervention) proved its viability in Bahandi Festival, which was held at the Mega Trade Hall in Mega Mall, Mandaluyong City.

It generated sales amounting to Php 89,000 and attracted big investors like Ayala Corp. for its Cebu Operation. In a trade exposition in Cebu, the same product was promoted and it generated sales amounting to P50,000. These ventures led to trial shipment to Hongkong.

Today, the Calbayog smoked fish is being exported to Singapore, Brunei and Australia.

Canlambo Women's Multi-purpose Cooperative

A few years ago, a group of women in Canlambo, Larena, Siquijor underwent training on basic dressmaking under the Non-Formal Education Program of the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS). They used their acquired sewing skills in their homes, for the benefit of their families.

Then, in January 1998, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) set these women on the road to entrepreneurship when it organized 20 of them into the Canlambo Women's Association and facilitated its registration with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as a rural workers group.

In August of the same year, DTI turned over to the association six Singer sewing machines and one Disc-o-matic as Common Service Facilities (CSFs) costing P50,000.

This was followed by Skills Training on Quilt Making, which gave them the impetus to start the production of quilted household textile items, using the house of the president as production center.

Then in 1999, DTI initiated a move to solicit assistance from government officials and local businessmen to fund the construction of a makeshift common production center.

The group manufactured quilted covers of various home appliances, throw pillows, sofa and bed covers, with buyers in Larena and neighboring cities.

DTI sustained its assistance through skills upgrading seminars and workshops in quality control and productivity improvement. The program also extended marketing assistance in terms of market linkages and participation in trade fairs and exhibits.

In the third quarter of 2000, the association graduated into a cooperative and registered with Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) as the Canlambo Women's Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

Seeing the potential of the project, DTI prepared proposals for fund sourcing which led to the group's identification as one of the recipients of the "Lingap Para sa Mahirap" Program.

In October 2000, it was granted a financial assistance in the amount of P100,000 which provided the cooperative the long-needed additional working capital for the project.

In 2003, the group was able to access P100,000 financial grant from the DOLE for the expansion of the production center.

With all the fund support, the cooperative expanded product lines. Now, the group produces curtains, baby comforters and bed sheets. There is also a plan to go into mass production and expand the cooperative's market base to other places.

Although the cooperative's economic venture is only a part-time undertaking for the members, it has provided them with an additional source of income, contributed to family's earnings, uplifted their quality of life, and given them a sense of well-being.

Canlambo Women's Multi-Purpose Cooperative is offering to supply quilted textile items. The products are available in different colors. They include the following: cloths, threads, zippers, fiber fills, foam ribbons.

Prices and other terms of trade will be discussed directly with interested parties.

The organization can supply 1 000 pieces each of small items, and 300 pieces each of big items per month.

The organization has 22 members.

Contact address:
Canlambo, Larena
Siquijor
6226 Philippines
Mrs. Letty B. Vicoy, President
Tel: (6335) 4809065 (63917) 7474614
Fax: (6335) 4809065

PITAD, Inc.

Coco husks, which is considered as waste material, can now be turned into exportable commodities with the intervention of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

This after DOST's research specialists and technologists extended an assistance to PITAD, a group composed of professionals in Northern Samar, in a bid to contribute to the development of the province by stimulating the coco coir industry.

Filipino-run firm based in Catarman, Northern Samar is now actively engaged in manufacturing and marketing world-class soil erosion control nets or geotextiles.

PITAD (a waray word means “a step forward”) Foundation Inc., is composed of small barangay cooperatives and foundations independently producing top quality coco coir fiber twines and export- class coconut fiber-based handicrafts.

The Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI), DOST's umbrella agency, supported the PITAD Inc. in converting the coconut husks into high value products, with the first coco husks decorticator installed in Mondragon, Northern Samar.Coco coir, a durable fiber extracted from discarded coconut husks, is now widely used as basic material in making nets, rolls, and mats as protective covers for soils and slopes. It is becoming popular in USA and countries in Southeast Asia. Coco coir is preferred over concrete bricks and peat moss because it is cheaper, renewable, and completely organic. It is also an excellent growing medium for landscape plants and grasses since the fiber has natural rooting hormones and good water-holding capacity.

PITAD Executive Director Samuel Galera revealed that the coco coir production in the province started to flourish when the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) funded the purchase of one unit coco husk decorticating machine and one unit fiber twinning machine in 1997 and 2001, respectively.

DOST provided a total grant-in-aid of P435,000 to PITAD. The machine, according to Gelera, has answered the need for bigger number of twines that will be used in the weaving of geotextile nets. Gelera revealed that there are five coco coir processing plants in the region, all located in Northern Samar.

PITAD, is one of those micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) assisted by DOST through its Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SET UP) in technology transfer and product quality development.

PITAD was established in 1996 by local engineers with the technical aid of Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI), an agency of DOST.

“With the technologies provided by DOST, the production capacity of our laborers has become more efficient. Now, we were able to increase the production of coco fiber twines from 200 kg to 300 kg a day,” Mr. Galera said. This production efficiency has escalated the firm’s annual net income from P664,000 to P1.2 M.

To cope with the increasing market demand, PITAD has increased its number of hired laborers from 15 to 168. Majority of them are contracted for coco coir twines production while the others are engaged in making coco fiber-based handicrafts like bags, potholders, and woven plant containers from their homes.

To date, the firm is earning a net monthly income of P160,000 from coco coir production alone, wherein 60% of its production goes to indirect exporters of coco coir fiber.

According to Mr. Galera, many foreign countries have become aware of the versatility and durability of our coco coir products, owing to the fact that our fiber was tested to have high-grade tensile strength and length.

Here in the Philippines, several government public work projects have been adopting the geotextile technology using coco coir as “soft engineered” structure in controlling landslides and soil erosions. A square meter of coco coir net only costs P60. Its efficiency and durability usually last for three years but the pads tucked underneath the wire could be replaced when they start to decompose.

To this point, the firm is targeting to acquire additional 60 units of twinning machines aside from its 12 units currently in use. This, according to Mr. Galera, is in preparation to cope with the increasing export demand for our coco coir products. “Hopefully, our coco coir would find their way to the markets of France, Italy, and Japan in the near future, “ Mr. Galera added. (DOST)

Negros Oriental Arts and Heritage (NOAH)

Divinagracia Yee could have just accepted the fate that befell her family after a series of business setbacks hit the Yee family during the mid-'80s.

Their establishments in Dumaguete City-a restaurant and a department store-were losing money heavily until they had to be closed down.

She and her husband Romulo consoled themselves that the inheritance from their parents would be enough for them to get by and send their children to school.

Several months later, Didi, as Yee is popularly known, was still reeling from their losses and at a loss on what to do. She and her husband were too afraid to go into another business. But fate had other plans.

One day, a man approached her looking for a job. "He was a displaced worker from a local stone craft factory which had also closed shop," recalls Didi adding that many businesses at that time were having a hard time and closures were common. The man had a family to support and was desperate to find a livelihood. "I wanted to help the fellow so I tried looking for what he could do," she relates. The guy gave her a stone tablet he had made with an inscription from the Bible made of India ink. The quote was from 2 Kings 3:17 which states: "For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink." "It was like God talking to me telling me that it was what I should do. God gifted me with an eye for nice things," says Didi.

The tablet became her inspiration to do more. She began crafting more of those stone tablets with inscriptions of Bible verses. Soon, friends started buying them using them as gifts or decors to their homes or offices.

After a few more experiments using stones of various colors in new designs, the stone craft factory went into full operation in 1989 with only two workers. Still inspired from the verses from the Bible, she named her factory NOAH. The four letters also stand for Negros Oriental Arts and Heritage.

That year was also the time when the Department of Trade and Industry and the Negros Oriental Centennial Commission were aggressively promoting handicrafts and other locally made products. Thus, Didi was able to get as much assistance from the two government agencies. From stone tablets, the factory began producing other stone craft items like jewelry boxes, costume jewelry, wall decoration, coasters, mirror frames and picture frames, paper weights, and beautiful chests and furniture in-laid with stone.

Along with new stone craft items, her designs also became more elaborate. Thus, one stone craft takes a longer time to finish. Various precious stones are also used in each stone craft depending on the design and color. Jade is used for color green, a red coral for red and a blue coral for blue. In one wall panel, stones of various colors are utilized. Paint enhances a stone craft's design and each is laminated to protect it.

A small jewelry box, for example, takes about two weeks to finish, a bigger one, from one to two months. A paperweight takes three days while one of the bigger wall panels, with "The Last Supper" took almost a year to complete.

In choosing the designs, Didi says that she always make sure that each has a touch of being Pinoy. Sometimes, designs come in a series, like the wall panels that carry themes like "Coco Gatherer," "Cane Gatherer," "Fishermen," and "Planting Rice." These are popular among foreigners. "This prompted me to hire more workers. I tapped the local folk from Bacong, a town in Negros Oriental, where the factory is located. I was happy because I was able to give them livelihood," she says.

Two years after it went into full operation, NOAH already has 140 skilled and semi-skilled workers in its factory in Bacong. It now has more than 200 workers. Didi says that after creating more stone products, she developed her distribution network. "I joined trade fairs both here in Negros Oriental and in Manila. People then recognized the quality of our stone crafts. Some distributors began to place a few orders, then they doubled it, tripled it ... So when the orders grew, I was again compelled to add new workers."

Later, department stores such as Rustan's and SM and local handicraft shops like Balikbayan Handicrafts and Tesoro's started to carry NOAH's products. The export market, she says, definitely would not be left behind. Presently, the stone crafts exported to Italy, Spain and Germany and the United States.

"The bulk of our produce now goes to the export market. I attribute it to the quality and the design of our products. Besides, we would not be able to penetrate the export market if not for those characteristics," she proudly beams.

Didi says they have continued to participate in trade fairs such as the National Trade Fair being held annually at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall. "Our efforts in trade fairs did not go for naught because every year we are able to get new and bigger clients. We are also able to showcase the best Filipino-made crafts to foreigners as well as to the locals," relates Didi.

During the last NTF, NOAH did not only get new clients, it also bagged the fair's top seller award for the third consecutive year. Didi is Noah's general manager while her husband Romulo is the production manager. Romulo is in charge of processing of the stone crafts-from color management, design to the overall finish. He also makes sure that each hinge or hook is in its proper place and functions according to its purpose.

At the start of each week, he prepares all the materials needed for production and even attends to the specific request of each worker. Their son Kerwin handles NOAH's Manila office while their daughter Marjorie is based in Dumaguete. They have two other sons, Michael and Ritoniel, who are in the US.

Didi says she and her husband could have just accepted their fate when their first businesses closed. But she believes that the man who came knocking at her door desperate for a job was God's instrument for them to go back to business.

Their faith proved its worth because as Didi puts it, they have been showered with so much blessings. But what's more important, she says, is they have been able to share these blessings to more and more people, especially the Bacong folk in Negros Oriental.

Salay Handmade Paper Industries, Inc.

The quaint town of Salay is in the province of Misamis Oriental, in green Mindanao of the Philippines. It is a fourth class municipality. So very typical of most rural towns, Salay is quiet and the people live simply, engaging in traditional agriculture and fishing.

In 1987, however, clashes between the New People's Army (NPA) rebels and government soldiers displaced the mountain people who depended mainly on their small farm lots for subsistence. The people had to move down to the Poblacion, where they had no adequate food and other necessities.

In the midst of this condition, civic-minded individuals heeded the national government's call for the people to organize the People's Economic Council (PEC) so they could help themselves. Thus, PEC-Salay was born and came to the family of Dr. Reynaldo and Loreta Rafisura.
Loreta was then recuperating from mastectomy. Dr. Rafisura was serving as the Municipal Health Officer.

Being natives of Salay, the couple felt their hearts "wrenched" when they saw some of their town mates begging for food. This tragedy had never occurred before. Food was always available, at the very least in the form of backyard root crops and vegetables. But in 1987, even these were lost when the people left their farms and livelihood to evade the fighting.

Providence must have guided Dr. Rafisura one night when he saw an exhibit of livelihood projects. He was on his way home from a medical seminar in the nearby city of Cagayan de Oro. The exhibits, which included instructional film shows, were presented in the municipality of Villanueva by the Design Mobile of the Product Development and Design Center of the Philippines (PDDCP). One of the movies was about the process of making handmade paper using cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica exaltata).

Dr. Rafisura was convinced that handmade papermaking was the answer to PEC's search for a livelihood project, one that could solve the unemployment problem of Salay. In Salay, grass was (and still is) more abundant than anything else! "Cogon is a pest," Dr. Rafisura said, "but if it could be made into something beautiful, something that could help our people, then we have to exploit its potential."

A month later, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) sponsored a three-day workshop on handmade papermaking in Salay. The trainer was Ms. Elizabeth Tagaylo, a chemist. Fifty-three people attended the course, but they were surprised and dismayed at the result of the workshop: The sheet of handmade paper was coarse like an egg tray.

Consequently, only a few participants persevered to finish the training.
Still, 10 people decided to stick together and continued the effort. To sustain the project, all the workers willingly sacrificed by receiving pay that cash flow allowed. A raffle draw was made, resulting in an initial capital of P6,000

It was the DTI, especially Provincial Director Alfonso Alamban and Regional Director Ninfa Along-Albania, who kept the morale of the group always high, enabling the group to meet the daily challenges. Other agencies who became friends were the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Fiber Industry and Development Authority (FIDA), PDDCP, and other local and even foreign non- government organizations (NGOs).

Starting with the lowly cogon grass, the group conducted experiments and successfully made original formulas using fiber of abaca (Musa textilis), leaves of pineapple (Ananas comosus), sawdust, bark of salago (Wikstroemia lancelota) and other indigenous materials.

The group then peddled the products and displayed them on consignment basis at stores in Cagayan de Oro and even in Manila. They also joined trade fairs and networked with any agencies willing to help them. Still, it was very difficult to sell handmade paper sheets per se. No one in Mindanao knew about them or appreciated their environmental value.

Hoping to increase sales, the group started converting the handmade paper sheets into artistic handicrafts. This practice began after Loreta, who loves nature, took the weeds and flowers in her garden and pressed them.

Afterwards, her sister Carmen Capistrano, a local high school teacher in Salay, decorated a sheet of handmade paper with pressed flowers and leaves. She then added some writings, and turned this combination into a Valentine's card -- the first greeting card of the group. The process was meticulous and time-consuming, but the finished product did look much better than the plain sheet.

This procedure of pressing plant parts on handmade paper eventually became the trademark of the group. If there was a paper heaven, Salay is it!

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SALAY HANDMADE PAPER INDUSTRIES, INC. (SHAPII) FOUNDATION

The dream of the 10 people who grouped together in the Handmade Papermaking Group of the People's Economic Council of Salay Misamis Oriental, Philippines in 1987 was to form a Cooperative or a Foundation.

Lack of money in the form of equity and bank account prevented it from being so. Instead it was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as a Corporation in 1990.

Its founding leader, Mrs. Loreta Rafisura, did so just to be able to secure a legal personality. Then, she learned from books what a Corporation is and how it functions.

The aspiration that its workers should be part owner of the company where they gave their time, talent and resources to was not shelved away.

Salay Handmade Paper Industries Incorporated functioned as a Corporation with a Cooperative heart.

Through the years, 14 workers became stockholders by way of stocks salary or stocks bought from salary deduction. In 2003, its 14 stockholders own a little more than 15% of the capital stock. Mrs. Rafisura and her family has about a third of it. They, too are workers: Dr. Reynaldo G. Rafisura as its Chairman of the Board and Mrs. Loreta Rafisura as President. When their 3 children finished college they came in to help. Neil is its General Manager now. Loreen Marie was its Marketing Officer until she left for the US to work as a nurse and J. Emmanuel is now a member of the Board of Directors and its treasurer.

The social concerns of SHAPII have never been forgotten . Where there are activities in the town, province, region or in the national scene that concerns the development of the Filipino, SHAPII workers would be there too.

On July 3, 2000, the Salay Handmade Paper Industries Foundation, Inc. was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This formally separated the social arm of SHAPII from its business activities.

It had 9 members, again composed mostly of the members of the family of Dr. Reynaldo and Mrs. Loreta Rafisura and children. With close relatives Pocholo Capistrano, Recolito Perocho , Fritz Hortelano and Alfonso Alamban.

Members of the Administrative staff of SHAPII worked extra hours with it for very little compensation. In year 2002, all the other stockholders of SHAPII opted to be a member of the SHAPII Foundation with a minimum contribution of P100.00 per year. Now there are 60 people working together.

The primary aim of the Foundation is to have linkages and give scholarships to enable poor but deserving youth to pursue higher education.It also wants to organize/ sustain or support livelihood projects so that rural folks can have an alternative source of income within the rural setting.

It limits its scope primarily within the town of Salay. Its first activity is the Alay-sa-Bata Program (Offering for the Child) which sponsors scholarships from the elementary to High School in the local Salay National High School.

Alay-sa-Bata has committed to a $150.00-support-per-deserving-student, renewable every year until the child graduates from the 4 year secondary schooling. It deliberately does not intend to take all the financial responsibility from the parent as the Programme is conceived only as a grant-aid.

Amazingly this modest programme aimed at having only 12 scholars in 4 years grew too fast! Now, in school year 2003-2004 SHAPII has 27 in the roster and 7 of them are in College.The most significant networking the foundation had was with Fr. Terry Barcelon S.J. of Xavier University's NKVS scholarship program that enabled 4 of the brightest students who graduated from Salay National High School to enroll for medicine and nursing course at the elite university for free this year.

Truly, the foundation is holding on to the dream that the youth are our hope. The SHAPII Foundation is the workers' legacy to the future.When Vivien Carroll, who was connected with TVET in TESDA Region X of the Philippines, enabled the foundation to receive a donation of 20 used computers from Swinburne University of Australia, the SHAPII Basic Computer Services was created in Salay in 2001.

To date, SHAPII had trained 38 of its 350 workers to become computer literate on its own. Salay does not have internet or computer schools, so the foundation devised its own modules, bought its own units as the SHAPII export-oriented business prodded it to develop in IT.

In the field of Agriculture and Population activities, SHAPII has been active along with the Local Government Unit officials.

SHAPII Foundation's activities cover not only along the line of livelihood but also education, health, agriculture, information technology, population, values, and the youth….and just about anything that affects the development of the town’s people. (Salay Handmade Paper Industries, Inc.)

Julie's Bakeshop

Julie’s Bakeshop was established in January 6, 1981 as a mom-and-pop type of business by Rodrigo and Julia Gandionco, at Wireless, Mandaue City, just north of Cebu City.

Originally, the intention was for the bakeshop to augment the bread requirements of the family’s canteen business. However, in just six months, another branch was opened near Aznar Coliseum, at a suburb area of Cebu City.

Julie’s Bakeshop quickly established branches all over Cebu City and its neighboring towns. Customers for hot, oven-fresh bread grew with each successive bakeshop opened.

In 1982, the first branch outside Cebu was opened in Iloilo.With just a little over Php 10, 000 as initial capitalization, Julie’s Bakeshop expanded to become one of the Philippine’s largest bakery chains.

It now has over 300 branches and outlets nationwide, expanding its reach from as far north as Laoag City to Zamboanga City in the south.

To date, Rodrigo and Julia Gandionco, and their six children, share the management of these bakeries with over 91 franchisees.

In 1984, RJ Commodities was established as a central warehouse for Julie’s Bakeshop. It ensured a steady supply of quality ingredients and bakery supplies for the business.

The main hub of its operation was in the Visayas and Mindanao.With the increasing demand to service Metro Manila and Luzon Julie’s Bakeshop opened a warehouse in Mangahan, Pasig City in June 2001.

By mid-2002, another branch was established in Davao City to service the bakeries in the southern island of Mindanao.

On July 1, 2003, RJ Commodities was merged with Julie’s Franchise Corporation.

Today RJ Commodities is known as Supply and Logistics Division with a more developed and improved service system.

In 1999, Julie’s Franchise Corporation (JFC) was organized to provide full management support to the franchisees.

JFC is manned by professionals to provide support in marketing, operations, construction, accounting, franchise development, and human resource development. It has a fully operational laboratory, under a research and development department, to continuously improve on over 200 varieties of bread and other bakery products that respond to the need of the market.

Julie's Bakeshop started the concept of allowing the customers to see how the breads were being made by removing the wall that separates the display counter from the baking area.

It has grown rapidly since its establishment in 1981. With 223 branches nationwide, its flour consumption amounts to over 2,000 bags a day.

Presently, Jullie's is the country's biggest network of neighborhood bakery.

In 1999, it garnered the very first Success Story of the Year award given by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Norkis

Forty-three years ago, a young couple started out with meager capital and limited business experience but with a clear vision and a lot of entrepreneurial spirit.

Norberto B. Quisumbing, Jr. and his wife, Britta Bartolome-Quisumbing, clinched in 1962 the Philippines’ exclusive manufacturing and distributorship of Yamaha motorcycles and nurtured the business to become one of the longest business partnerships Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. of Japan has around the world.

Starting out with a five-man team, the couple divided the work in the newly organized Norkis Trading Co., Inc. in Cebu..”I was in charge of operations and marketing while she handled finance, “ recalls NQ Jr., as the founder fondly called.

They worked hard and kept faith in each other’s capabilities. “I could go home only once a month,” he recalls those early years when he had to travel all over the country personally organizing Yamaha’s marketing network.”I had no formal training in finance,” Britta admits.

But her training as a classical pianist gave her a keen eye for details and a strong drive for perfection –traits that enabled her to adeptly play her complicated role of tightly monitoring the fledgling company’s financial performance and rearing her children.

Under Britta’s eagle eyes, the past 43 years has always been profitable for Norkis NQJr. Has all the reasons to be proud. “Our business grew and we have made significant contributions in the economic development of the communities where we operate.

We achieved all these despite the economic downturns and without any special perks or accommodations from the government, “ he says.Today, Norkis is one of Cebu’s leading tax payers.

For a good number of years, Norkis has been recognized by the Bureau of Customs as the top importer of the Port of Cebu, having paid duties and taxes amounting to P258 million in 2003 and P219 million in 2004.

The Norkis Group’s value-added tax (VAT) payments amounted to P552 million in 2003 and P678 million in 2004. Norkis was given the “Top Achiever Award” by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in February 2005.

There is no secret formula—it is pure and simple honest, hard work. “We delegate but never abdicate supervision,” he says.Today, Norkis’ diversified operations have over 5,000 employees with aggregate payroll, benefits and incentives of about P60 million a month. Another 5,000 derive their livelihood through its contractors and independent dealers, creating another income stream into the local economy of about P40 million a month.

The Cebu head office overseas the operation of several factories in Mandaue and Compostela. With a network of over 1, 2000 branches, dealers and service centers nationwide, it boasts of a strong market presence in every province and city throughout the country.

The hundreds of thousands of loyal Norkis customers are always assured they get personalized attention they deserve and the adequate after-sales service they need.The Norkis Group’s 34 companies are grouped into three: Norkis Holdings, Summa and Eagle.

The Norkis Group export furniture and metal carts. It has agribusiness ventures in Cebu, Bukidnon, Batangas and masbate. Norkis is also involved in metal fabrication, engineering work and real estate development.

It launched the Golden Aire line of air conditioners and recently the Legacy First, a hybrid of the highly successful Multicabs.

For all its products, competitive consumer financing packages are always available through the extensive national network of Norkis branches.

Its core business continues to be the Yamaha motorcycles, Multicabs and now the newly launched Legacy First. It has produced and sold several units of Yamaha motorcycles, which continue to enjoy strong demand.

An innovator in multi-purpose, affordable vehicles, the Norkis family shares the dream of every Filipino to have a vehicle of his own so he can be a master of his own time.

Bohol Bee Farm

If you were to ask Victoria Wallace a year ago if she ever thought of entering the hotel, farming and restaurant business, she would have answered with a polite no.

But in that short span of time, she and her little farm have come a long way to what it is today: A quaint resthouse-for-rent and buffet restaurant nestled in fields of organic vegetables, fruits, flowers and beehives, called Bohol Bee Farm.Wallace, who asks you to call her Vicky as soon as you set foot in the place, says she herself has come a long way, too, not only as a businesswoman but as a person.

Clad in a simple top, jeans and a bandana, she single-handedly runs the place with zest and a constant smile on her face."This is my dream here," she says. "I'm enjoying what I'm doing. It's fun, gardening and cooking. I have so much energy."

Indeed, energy is a must for all the work that must be done-cooking, cleaning, planting, harvesting, even making handicraft like hammocks and bags, not to mention raising two teenagers.

But Wallace doesn't show the stress and tension brought on by such tasks; instead you see peace and happiness in having a flourishing farm, a beautiful home, a booming restaurant, and contented workers and visitors.

Born and raised in this province, Vicky remains vocal about the sorry state of farming and of farmers. She observes that they have not regained their niche in the local markets due to the onslaught of liberal trade policies existing in the country.

The hope gets dimmer, Vicky says, as she notices the country's continued reliance on foreign produce, setting aside support for the locally grown. "We have to create the markets to help farmers raise their standard of living a notch higher."

Unknown to many, Vicky is not only a mouthpiece of issues that affect the plight of farmers. She is a staunch believer in life, an advocate of organic farming, a firm practitioner of companion planting and an avowed insect-lover.

In 1991, she bought a 4.8-hectare property to pursue her love for farming. Two years after, she established the Bohol Bee Farm to continue promoting things that are organically grown.

She thinks her love for farming was more innate than developed, and must have been strengthened during years of living with her grandparents in Pangasinan.

"Farming is the best thing that ever happened in my life," confesses Vicky, eyes rolling upward, hands open as though receiving grace. "I remember we would visit the farm and haul camote, corn and ube. The sheer delight of cupping the earth with bare hands gave you such an affinity with Mother Nature. Then, we would walk the farm animals in a clearing or simply play with them."

Vicky still spends most of her mornings among rows of green leafy plots that she has devoted to assorted romaine lettuce, mustard greens, celery, eggplants, pepper and many more. Although the absence of big animals is obvious, nothing is lost with her newfound fascination with the insect world.

The ant world in particular is of interest to Vicky. While others have considered insects predators on the farm, Vicky calls them her friends and allies.

"We have introduced companion planting that allows the growth of different kinds of indigenous materials near the vegetable gardens. The materials are never removed because they serve as shelter and nesting place for insects."

There are 14 brown houses at the bee farm intended for basic composting purposes.The vegetables are naturally grown and are spared from chemical sprays. Not only does Vicky cite the harmful effects of these on human health, but also the damage they can do to the soil.

After farming for nine years,Vicky has come up with her own mix of fertilizer that is partly seawater and partly tap water.Insects are not an alarming issue, as far as Vicky is concerned. "It is easy to live harmoniously on the farm with other creatures."

Observers have pointed to the practice as very Oriental, but Vicky insists she is not aware of such similarities. Even if this raised speculations that her marriage to American Thomas Edward Wallace resulted in some weird transformation, Vicky says she is not aware of that, either.

"My marriage to Thomas, who was 58 years old, when I was 20, had nothing to do with how I think right now."A typical discussion with her husband, an African American, was always interesting, she recalls, as it delved on world issues such as racism, equal rights, freedom, slavery and economy, among others.

When Thomas died in 1988, Vicky waited for three years to "stabilize" herself. She bought the property in Barangay Dao, Sitio Dauis (where the bee farm is) to pursue a dream to go back to farming. Another property in Barangay Inabanga, 70 km north of Bohol, was improved to house the bees.

Farming was not a half-baked decision I resorted to after becoming a young widow. The enthusiasm was shared by my children Mellanie and Abdul who, like me, believe that being close to Mother Nature is far more important than other things.

The bee farm is Vicky's way of sharing knowledge with visitors about products that are organically grown. The house's mouth-watering specialties include vegetable and honey-based products such as squash muffins, herb camote bread, and bee farm concoctions of fruity ice cream, homey spread, garden salad and honeyed tableya.

There is Vicky's inner sanctum, too, which she calls her meditation place. Devoid of clutter and unnecessary things, its is also decorated with beautiful blue tile works and flimsy white fabric for curtains. "You don't have to go somewhere to find a place to meditate," Vicky suggests. "A quiet spot at home where you can regularly meditate for about 15 minutes is fine. It is a cleansing process so wonderful for the system."

Running both the coffee shop and the farm is not a profit-driven endeavor. Vicky refuses to mass-produce because she believes her market might not be able to understand how the bee farm operates.

The resort owners around Bohol buy her vegetables in bulk, but she sees to it that her specialties are bought only at the coffee shop, and not anywhere else. In this way, she can meet with the buyers and explain to them the bee farm way.

These days, Vicky is not only tied up with information dissemination. She also sits as an active member of the Bohol Initiatives for Sustainable Agriculture and Development (BIFAD).

Her continuing struggle to make organic farming a priority item for agriculture tops her wish list. "Let us not turn down the opportunity to help others. In life it is not only about an individual or about ourselves, but also the welfare of others."

Oriental Port and Allied Services Corporation (OPASCOR)

OPASCOR is not just an ordinary arrastre and stevedoring corporation but a successful workers’ enterprise in the country today.

OPASCOR started in 1990 with little cash in hand. The government owned National Stevedoring and Ligherage Corp. (NLSC) was privatized and workers were out of jobs.

Of the P12 million retirement benefits of former workers of the NSLC, 60 percent went to the defunct government corporation in exchange for dilapidated equipment and permit to operate, five percent to the corporation (OPASCOR), and 30 percent their take home pay.

This made OPASCOR a workers’ enterprise, owned by all workers.In a short span of time, OPASCOR was able to modernize its cargo handling equipment, including the gantry crane after its officials went on window shopping at various international ports in South East Asia and Europe.

By 1999, OPASCOR, an exclusive cargo handler at CIP, had already grown into a very big company, with an estimated assets of P250 million.

To maintain OPASCOR as a workers’ enterprise it ahs been a policy to require that shareholders to return their shares of stocks to the company if they need cash during retirement, so it can be re-disposed by gratuitous stock dividend to incumbent workers.

OPASCOR was able to secure renewal of its contract with CPA with validity until 2013. If OPASCOR could put up the state of the art bulk handling equipment, its operations could automatically be extended by CPA up to 2028.

Based on performance audit prior to the renewal of contract, the CPA found out that OPASCOR loads and unloads 28-30 container vans per hour, a figure 30 percent higher compared to its counterpart in Manila.

OPASCOR is also charging lower handling tariff which is about ½ of Manila and is said to be advantageous to Cebu’s economy because more shippers choose Cebu as their transshipment point of cargoes in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Until Now, OPASCOR’s efficiency as the exclusive cargo handler of the Cebu Ports Authority is unparalleled--- something the workers can tout of, after all--- OPASCOR is a Workers’ Enterprise.

Precision Machinist Corporation (PREMACOR)

Everybody loves a success story. But few stories touch the heart of ordinary men as much as the story of Jose Morales.

How he built one of the finest precision engineering companies in Cebu is truly an inspiring narrative for every underprivileged soul who dreams big.

Born to destitution, life was lined with adversities for the young Morales.
He was forced to earn a living while studying in the city, taking whatever odd jobs he could find, to augment the meager family income.

The obstacles he had to face for several years would have broken the spirit of men made of weaker stuff. But life’s trials only made Morales more determined to overcome his poverty.

What made Jose Morales different from any cash strapped teenager was his unwavering belief that he would one day be financially independent. He also knew that knowledge was the key to reaching his goal.

After graduating from a metalworking course, Morales worked at an engineering and research company for nine years until he realized that he would be better-off managing his own business.

In 1980, armed with a few thousand pesos, he established the Precision Machinist Corporation (PREMACOR). He set-up his service shop in a small run-down house and serviced the machine parts needs of beverage, shipping and mining industries in Cebu for a few years.

PREMACOR was later incorporated in 1984 to become a high precision machine parts manufacturer that would service local and overseas customers.

He later acquired a foreign scholarship through the assistance of the Department of Trade and Industry Cebu Provincial Office. This immersed him for a year in a German factory and opened his eyes to future possibilities for his company.

German technology fascinated him. In the hands of German trainers, he developed a voracious appetite for knowledge on the latest trends in precision engineering.

Working at a foreign manufacturing plant provided him with hands-on knowledge on modern machineries to increase work productivity and allowed him to see the advantages in adopting a mindset attuned to market needs.


His later experiences working with Japanese clients molded him to be more flexible and quickly adjust to change. Sometime in 1987,

PREMACOR started servicing companies at the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ). Today a huge share of PREMACOR revenues comes from servicing these companies.

Unlike most local suppliers, the high and exacting standards of MEZ companies never daunted Morales. Although in the beginning, he had to deal with several product rejects, he knew that MEZ companies were willing to teach him what he needed to learn.

A hands-on manager, he had no qualms about learning new things even at his age. In fact, Morales believes his company thrives on its openness to change, constant improvement and modern work methods.

Through the years, PREMACOR acquired the capability and know-how necessary to produce metal components within 5 micron accuracy, from ordinary heat treated tool steel or ferrotic to the most difficult to cut tungsten carbide.

Today, the company manufactures high-precision Plastic Injection Moulds, Vacuum Forming Moulds, Stamping Dies and Semicon Tooling Components. It operates a well-equipped air conditioned tool room.

Its workshop is stocked with the latest model, high-grade machinery made by some of the world’s best-known manufacturers, a number of which are capable of achieving single digit tolerances.

PREMACOR is now ISO certified, meaning that the company is up to par with international standards.

With its reputation for quality products and service, the company currently gets a lot of attention from foreign companies.

Recently, a foreign firm is planning to tie up with his company to service Asia.Jose Morales has not only achieved financial independence but also respect from international manufacturing firms.

Despite his success, he still remembers his beginnings and has a soft spot for the underprivileged members of society. He is presently employing metalworking graduates from Don Bosco Technical School and Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), making his factory a sort of finishing school for these young people before they leave for better opportunities outside the country.

Now enjoying financial stability, he advises Filipino families to embrace entrepreneurship as a means to improve their economic status. He believes that entrepreneurship is the answer to poverty alleviation and should be inculcated at a young age.

Starting a business does not entail a lot of money as proven by Jose Morales. A person only needs to specialize in a small area of the industry and make money out of it.

Morales showed that as soon as an entrepreneur makes a name for himself by providing a track record for good quality products and excellent service, he will attract bigger clients.

Not only has Morales proven that anyone can overcome poverty through entrepreneurship, but that supplying the needs of companies in Cebu’s economic zones is good business.


Company Profile
PRECISION MACHINIST CORPORATION (PREMACOR)

The company has been in existence since 1980, servicing at first the machine parts needs of the beverage, shipping and mining industries. PREMACOR was incorporated in 1984 to become a high precision machine parts manufacturer to service local and overseas customers.

In 1987, the company changed direction towards precision engineering and started servicing companies at the Mactan Economic Zone (formerly Mactan Export Processing Zone).

Through the years, PREMACOR has acquired the capability and know-how necessary to produce metal components within 5 micron accuracy, from ordinary heat treated toolsteel or ferrotic to the most difficult to cut tungsten carbide.

The company currently manufactures high precision Plastic Injection Moulds, Vacuum Forming Moulds, Stamping Dies and Semicon Tooling Components.

PREMACOR operates a well-equipped airconditioned tool room. Its workshop is stocked with the latest model, high-grade machinery made by some fo the world’s best-known manufacturer, a number of which are capable to achieve single digit tolerances.

PREMACOR’s best assets are the competent and highly trained men who are specialists in all machining disciplines and trained by foreign experts both locally and abroad. These dedicated workers provide the highest quality of service for each customer.

The vision of PREMACOR is to be at the forefront of the metalworking industry, maintaining updated and state-of-the-art machineries and equipment, run by competent, highly skilled and dedicated individuals with an intense desire to produce excellent services and goods.

Company Profile
PRECISION FORMING COPORATION (PREFORMING)PREFORMING is a SEC-registered company engaged in the manufacture of precision parts for automotive, semicon, computer and electronics industries.

The company was founded in 1998 purposely to cater to the automotive industry. Later on, PREFORMING expanded its horizon to cover other industries focusing on low-priced, high –quality products.

The company maintains a potent workforce of competent, highly skilled and trained individuals who recognize and understand customers’ needs and requirements. It has acquired a variety of press machines ranging from 2 tons to 100 tons.

From machine pressing, machining to packing every step in its processes is guided by one principle – maintain quality for total customer satisfaction.

Carcar United Footwear Manufacturer Association Inc., Cebu Shoemakers’ Cooperative

Shoemaking is part of the heritage of the people of Carcar, Cebu. It has been passed down from generation to generation and has become a major industry adopted by around 435 skilled workers of this small town.

In the past, the Department of Trade an Industry - Cebu Provincial Office (DTI-CPO) assisted Carcar shoemakers in terms of financing and marketing. However, it was not enough to generate concrete and measurable results.

During the months of July and August 1998, DTI administered a BENCHMARK SURVEY of Carcar shoemakers to serve as baseline data for organizational needs assessment and as part of DTI’s resource mapping. Data revealed that most shoemakers were held captive by usurers who were charging exorbitant interest, there was no sharing of technology among shoemakers and shoemakers lacked support form LGU.

After assessing the common needs of shoemakers, DTI-Cebu conducted a training on CREDIT MANAGEMENT AND DELINQUENCY CONTROL in Can-asujan, Carcar with shoemakers from Liburon.Carcar town’s flourishing shoe-manufacturing industry was once the beneficiary of President Arroyo’s “Isang Bayan, Isang Produkto, Isang Milyong Piso” program.

This after former governor Pablo Garcia pledged his P1 million from the President’s program to help develop the industry, Department of Trade and Industry-Cebu Provincial Office (DTI-CPO) Provincial Director Nelia Navarro said.

This year, Carcar's shoemaking industry benefits from the One Town, One Product (OTOP-Philippines) project of the DTI. A priority program of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to promote entrepreneurship and create jobs, OTOP-Philippines encourages the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to produce and market distinct products or services using indigenous raw materials and manpower.

The DTI has been assisting the Carcar local government and other LGUs in identifying the specific product or service and coordinates all forms of assistance from various agencies including the Departments of Agriculture (DA), Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Interior and Local Government (DILG), Science and Technology (DOST), Tourism (DOT) and the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Under the program, the inter-agencies provide MSMEs a comprehensive package of assistance including business counseling; skills and entrepreneurial training; product design and development; marketing; and introduction of appropriate technologies.

At present, DTI-CPO is providing technical assistance to the Carcar United Footwear Manufacturer Association Inc. (CUFMAI). DTI-CPO Program Management Division Chief Eli Tecson said CUFMAI’s bulk-buying project has allowed the local industry to compete price-wise with other shoemakers in the country and abroad.

Despite the industry’s quality products, Carcar shoes had a difficult time competing price-wise with other shoe manufacturers because of the high cost of raw materials, which are bought in small quantities, Tecson said. “With bulk buying, the cost of raw materials has gone down, resulting in cheaper products,” Tecson said.

CUFMAI already made two bulk orders last year, which were bought by both members and non-members of the organization. Tecson said the DTI-CPO had facilitated CUFMAI’s linkage with Bulacan-based leather tannery Eastern Tanning Corp. for the raw material bulk buying.

With these positive developments, Carcar shoemakers can now look forward to a much brighter future.

Tubigon Loomweavers Multi-purpose Cooperative

With an initial capitalization of only P5,000, the Tubigon Loomweavers Multi-purpose Cooperative has grown to a P1.5 M enterprise after 13 years.

It is now ranked as the second largest producer of raffia loomwovens in Bohol.Weavers, wives of farmers and fisherfolks, who used to practically sit-through days waiting for their husbands are now empowered and earn an average of at least 5,000/month.

Starting with only 30 members who had zero skills, the group in Tubigon, Bohol was organized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 1989 under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program as an association under the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries.

DTI nurtured the group through different interventions including the provision of basic skills and training on weaving strengthened by product development to prepare them to participate in trade fairs, exhibits and other marketing activities.

As members were oriented and trained to do 5S to enhance productivity, workplace organization was improved and the work processes eased. The adoption of work simplification and safety measures and the definition of role functions have minimized internal conflicts.

The group passed the normal sequential pattern of organization development where assisting agency did not push the group to immediately organize into a cooperative. The group saw for themselves the need for the association to graduate into a full fledge cooperative. Soon after, they worked out by themselves the cooperative’s registration.

The original 30 members have now expanded to 100 and at the peak of orders they sometimes resort to sub-contracting the services of some home-based non-coop member weavers in the locality.

Currently, members are working hard to provide clients with unique and original designs of loom-weaved products. They prepare customized designs based on the concept and ideas of their clients. The cooperative also accepts orders of customized products such as bags and other accessories from various clients.

They continuously undergo trainings to come up with new concepts and designs, thus making their products more attractive to buyers.Instead of just weaving looms for placemats and runners, the cooperative now weaves other products like beach and prayer mats, rolls and braids made of raffia using original and unique designs.

Having a regular source of income has enabled cooperative members to acquire properties and share them with the community as they take active part and involve themselves in community activities. The deep well which the members use in raw material preparation is also being used by people in the community for their needs.

Their financial capability has allowed them to become regular sponsors in religious activities such as barrio fiestas and other celebrations.To date, there is a plan to expand the production center.

The cooperative wants to acquire the existing lot where the center is set up and buy another adjacent lot where another production center will be constructed that will house at least 50 improved handlooms.

The cooperative, through the help of the government, also hopes to directly export abroad in addition to selling to exporters and traders in the Philippines.

Loomweaving is a sub-sector within the Gifts and Houseware sector which utilizes raffia fibers extracted from young, unopened buri leaves. Though a home based endeavor, this century-old industry, has graduated into a firm-level production in Bohol.

Loomweaving is labor intensive and is considered a major source of income opportunity. Most firms operating in this particular industry are in the micro, cottage and small levels. Majority of the loomwoven exporters are traders sourcing products from a network of accredited subcontractors.

There are nine (9) municipalities in the province of Bohol that are engaged in this kind of home-based industry. These are the municipalities of Inabanga, Tubigon, Buenavista, Calape, Danao, Albuquerque, Valencia, Corella and Panglao. However, the municipality of Inabanga, where majority of loomweavers are produced, serve as anchor municipality for the industry.