Tags: Aquaculture, Entrepreneurship
By KC Santos
TIWI, ALBAY – When dynamite fishing left fishermen in this small town with hardly any fish to catch, Seth Conde took the initiative to find a means of living for housewives like her.
“Nang maging laganap ang mga bomba sa dagat, talagang walang mahuling isda ang aming mga asawa, buti nalang may mga taga-gobyerno na tinulungan silang makahanap ng paraan (When blast fishing became widespread, our husbands barely had any catch, good thing people from the government helped them find a way),” shares Seth, president of the Tiwi Food Processors Association, whose members are all housewives of fishermen.
With the help of the local government of Albay, seaweed farming was introduced as a viable alternative. Seth thought that she and the other wives should find a way to help ease the burden of their husbands so they sought help from the local government.
“Mahirap kasing i-asa ang lahat ng gastusin sa aming mga asawa. Mahirap din kasi na kailangan pa namin silang hintayin para sa pambaon n gaming mga anak (It’s hard to depend everything to our husbands, It was equally hard that we had to wait ‘till they arrive before we can send our children to school),” she recounts.
Seth led the wives in the processing of the seaweeds into noodle form. She recalls the the determination in their faces during the early stages of training.
“Sa training palang, kinulekta na namin yung mga sobrang seeweed at ibang ingredients at sinimulan na naming i-process(We collected anything that was left of the training and we used the left over seaweed and other ingredients and started processing it),” shares Seth, adding the local government was pleased with their initiative thus the ample support on this project.
Soon, even non-government institutions lent assistance. The Institute of Culinary Arts helped Seth come up with recipes that use seaweed noodles.
Seth says seaweed noodles have high nutritional value. Unlike other types of noodles, it is rich in vitamin C, magnesium, calcium and is proven to help prevent the development of diabetes.
Seth recalls their initial products came with really poor packaging – the labels were simply photocopied – but the wives persisted, driven by their desire not to let the assistance they received go to waste.
“Talagang hindi namin sinayang yung tulong na ibingay sa amin kasi talagang nakaka-tulong ito sa aming mga pamilya (We really didn’t waste the help that they extended because this really help our families),” she says.
“Kapag nagsisipag ka, masasabi mong masarap mabuhay. Yung mga nagrereklamo na mahirap ang buhay, yun yung mga walang ginagawa para mai-ahon ang buhay nila (When you’re hard working, you can say life is good. Those who complain about life being otherwise are those who are not trying to develop their lives),” she says.
A half-kilo pack of seaweed sells for P100. Seth’s group also produce malunggay tea and make bags using local materials. All of the wives (the association has 35 members) are guaranteed minimum wage if they fulfill a certain monthly quota.
Seth is hopeful that people will patronize their products that taught housewives like her about the value of hard work.
“Hangga’t may tatangkilik at bibili, lalo kaming magiging ganado na gumawa (As long as we see people buying our products, we will keep on making them.” she says.
The Tiwi Food Processors Association Inc. is an exhibitor in the OKBIKOL 2010 trade fair at SM Megamall ongoing until October 10. For product inquiries, you can call Seth Conde at (052) 488-8008 or (0928)5505226.
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