BUTTON OF SUCCESS A love for the arts and home province inspired an entrepreneur in Kalibo, Aklan to put up her own business. Sheree Reynaldo, founder and designer of Buttons ‘n Things Crafts & Designs, said it all started with her arts and crafts hobby and almost zero knowledge on the business management aspect. “I continue reading : Aklan: Button’s ‘N Things Crafts & Design
Bacolod City: Babylan’s Cococraft
DECORATING LIVES WITH THE TREE OF LIFE Starting with a loan worth Php10,000 couple, Maxima and Rolando Madera did not think that their home décor business would eventually make it big. It started in 1988 when Rolando’s employer was on the verge of closing down their export business. The couple decided to file a loan continue reading : Bacolod City: Babylan’s Cococraft
Albay: RLM Native Products
NURTURING NATURE’S GIFTS When super Typhoon Reming hit Albay province in 2007, thousands were left homeless and stripped of their livelihood. Renato Madrideo, a resident of Daraga, Albay, was among those affected whose house was destroyed by the super typhoon. He lost everything except his hope. So instead of wallowing in despair, he looked for continue reading : Albay: RLM Native Products
Oriental Mindoro: Iraya Life Enterprises
TURNING HONEY INTO MONEY What started as a hobby is now giving a former overseas Filipino (OF) a steady stream of income. Ma. Socorro Mendoza, Iraya Life Enterprises Operations Manager, shared that her interest in beekeeping began when she was still working in Papua New Guinea. Soccorro’s former employer owned a honeybee farm in Malaysia, continue reading : Oriental Mindoro: Iraya Life Enterprises
Batangas: Mira’s Turmeric Products
CULTIVATING NATURE’S GOODNESS As a wife of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), Almira Silva wanted to help her husband earn additional income for their family. She tried piggery and organic farming business in 2014. Soon after, without any formal plan to venture into an additional business, she tried planting turmeric and ginger just to use continue reading : Batangas: Mira’s Turmeric Products
Bataan: Amanda’s Marine Products
BOTTLE OF BATAAN It was a tough and brave decision to make, but Amanda Battad quit her fulltime job because she wanted to run her own business. Amanda resides in the province of Bataan where fish is one of the main sources of income, so she wanted to try her luck in the marine business continue reading : Bataan: Amanda’s Marine Products
Cagayan: Alcala Women’s Rural Improvement Club MPC
FROM NUTS TO RICHES Peanut is empowering the rural women and farmers in Alcala, Cagayan and enabling them to bring about positive change in their community. Alcala, a third-class municipality in the province of Cagayan, considers peanut as one of its most abundant cash crops. Because of this, the local government unit (LGU) has chosen continue reading : Cagayan: Alcala Women’s Rural Improvement Club MPC
La Union: Halo-Halo de Iloko Balay
A LOCAL FAVORITE WITH A NORTHERN TWIST From a hole-in-the-wall, Halo Halo de Iloko is now a well-known restaurant offering comfort food to both locals and tourists in San Fernando, La Union. When the restaurant-museum was just starting in 2004, Xavier Balangue Mercado used a portion of their garage to offer halo-halo. Xavier shared that continue reading : La Union: Halo-Halo de Iloko Balay
Sagada: Ola Farms
BREWING HOPE FOR THE FUTURE Jennifer Rimando’s love for coffee farming started when she was just 12 years old. Jennifer’s grandfather, whom everyone called ‘Ola’, would bring her to their small coffee farm. At that tender age, Jennifer was already assisting her grandfather in running a small coffee farm. “Coffee is not something new here. People continue reading : Sagada: Ola Farms
Tondo: Sambayanan ng Muling Pagkabuhay MPC
THE REBIRTH OF A COMMUNITY The Smokey Mountain in Tondo, Manila once became a symbol of poverty as most of the residents lived below poverty line and worked as scavengers. Today, Smokey Mountain serves as a symbol of hope as former scavengers have now found safer and more stable sources of income. Smokey Mountain opened continue reading : Tondo: Sambayanan ng Muling Pagkabuhay MPC