A picture of a courageous woman, Myla Sutherland journeyed from being an OFW in several countries to be an entrepreneur in her home town. Hardwork and perseverance were her important capital.
She started working abroad in Malaysia in 1995 as a singer, then moved to Bahrain in 1999. While in Bahrain, she took another job in a real estate company until she got married. She worked in her husband’s intergraphic design firm which brought them to travel to many countries. They decided to move to Dubai in 2005, when the marriage broke up. She got connected with a manpower service company, Metro Global, in the country, worked as a part-time marketing agent, and eventually went home for good.
In the Philippines, she put up a travel agency but eventually closed down after having been cheated. Afterwards, she tried a resto bar business in her hometown in Capas, Tarlac. There, she begun making and selling atchara using the recipe she inherited from her grandmother.
In May 2017, Myles attended a 5-day skills training on Mango processing conducted by the Capas Negosyo Center. This was held in a DTI Shared Service Facility(SSF) housed at the Tarlac Agricultural University(TAU) in Camiling, Tarlac. She patiently drove from Capas to Camiling every day just to complete the training. During the training, her willingness to learn was evident. She immediately registered her business name – “Eight Myles Food Products,” afterwards and started producing her own products. All her raw materials came from her own farm in Capas, Tarlac. She was assisted in improving product label designs through the Negosyo Center. Bryan Maninang, who was then assigned as Business Counselor in NC-Capas, served as her designer. Also in the same year, she joined the Diskwento Caravan organized by the Department of Trade and Industry-Tarlac Provincial Office. After the trade fair, she was contacted by Fresh Options in Pampanga and since then, she became their regular supplier of atchara of 400 (500 ml) bottles a month in different variants (regular, spicy and white spicy). Simultaneously, her Mango vinegar along with Papaya vinegar and Chilli paste are making good sales through Metro Global. The latter serves as retailer for Eight Myles Food Products for their clients. Other products which are also in demand are Mango Jam and pickled Mango.
She is very patient in joining trade fairs within the region and in attending seminars to promote her products and enhance her entrepreneurial skills. Among the DTI trainings she has attended are: Strategic Marketing, Business Opportunity Seminar, Skills Training on No Bake Cake, Training for Store Frontliners, and Seminar on Customer Service and Handling Customers Complaints. At present, she is completing the 10-module training being one of the 3rd batch mentees of the KMME Program.
Because of the variety of fruits available in their own farm, she intends to produce more products to fully utilize these raw materials. She already made initial steps for FDA accreditation. In the near future, she intends to produce Buko pie and put up a Pasalubong Center.
According to her, she found what she really wants to do in life – to become an entrepreneur. Patience, hardwork, passion and perseverance are what made Ms. Sutherland one.♦