Sales go up and down, but service stays forever. It never ceases to amaze me how much time people waste searching endlessly for magic shortcuts to entrepreneurial success and fulfillment, when the only real path is staring them right in the face – real entrepreneurs who start real businesses that employ real people who provide real products and services to real customers. This is what the Zambales Coconut Free Farmers is doing and providing.

 

Zambales Coconut Free Farmers Association (ZCFFA) is an organization located at Barangay Natividad, San Narciso, Zambales. They are currently producing pickled papaya, chilli products, banana chips, jams and jellies and pickled onion. This organization is composed of 25 members working together as one. They started by learning marketable skills and applying enormous amount of hard work. They started to produce chilli products and chips in 2013. Yearly they are improving on and creating new productst as additions to their product lines. They produce approximately 300 bottles of chilli products and 100 packs of chips per day. This organization is the identified beneficiary for the transfer of Shared Service facility (SSF) project on Spring Onion. The SSF equipment helped them produce new products which eventually increased their production volume.

 

Because of the good service of the Association to its customers and the continuous assistance of the Department of Trade and Industry, its sales continued to grow  from 10,000 from the year they started and now to 55,000- 100,000 pesos per month.

 

As one of its officer, Regina Fuerte, said “Yes, I know that’s hard. It’s a lot of work. What can I say, that’s life. Besides, look on the bright side: You get to do what you want and you get to do it your way. There’s just one catch. You’ve got to start somewhere. Ideas and opportunities don’t just materialize out of thin air.”♦