Tags: Cottage Industries, Entrepreneurship
By Anna Valmero
ROMBLON, ROMBLON – This province is famous for its marble – some say it’s even comparable to Italy in terms of quality – which is why Rommelyn Diola has high hopes that despite the economic crisis abroad, her export business can prosper.
Rommelyn started her business in 2005 when she acted as mediator for Korean businessmen who visited Romblon scouting for potential deals with local marble businesses.
“They encouraged me to set up my own marble export business so that they would find it easier to close the deals because they had difficulty with previous business partners who failed to deliver their orders on time,” she says.
Using her savings and earnings, she left her job at the local tourism office and started Rome Marble and Realstone Enterprises.
Admitting that marble furniture and displays are decorative and comes only second to basic needs such as food and shelter, she instead focused on the export market.
Business was good in the first three years with orders with orders coming from her main clients in South Korea and their friends in Europe.
Back then, she would hire 50 to 100 workers to haul marbles and sculpt them according to client designs. Big orders are given a lead time of three months. For example, a lifesize statue will usually take a month to make and labor costs alone would amount to P20,000.
Basically, there are different types of marble depending on its color and where it was excavated.
White marble, comparable to Italy’s white marble, comes from Barangay Ilawran; the yellow century marble (characterized by yellowish veins) and the blue century marble (characterized by its bluish color with specks of black veins) both come from Bgy. Karaykay; and the black marble comes from Bgy. Giumpingan.
“There is no problem in marketing Romblon marble because it is known to be top quality. But the global recession came and the business slowed down from 2008 to 2009,” Rommelyn recalls.
To address this, she made her prices competitive and, although orders were not as huge as before, local bazaars and a few orders for the export market is just good for the business.
From Chinese vases (P6,500 and up) and burial urns (P1,200 and up), she also sells functional items from marble such as mortar and pestle (P150 and above), business card holders (P200 and up), and wash bowls (P4,500 and up).
“I hope as the economy gets better, business will also be better for the marble furniture business because this is the bread and butter of Romblon natives,” she says.
In the future, Diola aims to partner with local furniture designers who want to incorporate marble in their products.
Get more information on Rome Marble and Realstone Enterprises
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