What hard work grows

B: Jireh Pearl Casionan

Sta. Maria, Laguna- Growing up in Sta. Maria, Laguna, Teresita D. Dita early learned how to be self-reliant. Having completed only elementary education, she began earning a living by cooking and selling native delicacies in their town. Back then, she did this with her mother.

The taste of her delicacies became familiar in their community, and her skill in preparing traditional delicacies also brought recognition to their town. Teresita’s homemade sticky rice cake (suman) won twice during the Marilag Festival, an agricultural and cultural celebration in
Sta. Maria, Laguna.

When she got married, Teresita’s native delicacy business was not enough to support their six growing children. To make ends meet, she and her husband started another source of income by raising chickens and selling their eggs. It took them courage to invest their marriage fund to start this poultry business.

The early days of raising chickens and waiting for egg production were not easy. Another investment required to grow the business was making sure pests and viruses would not sicken them.

With their continuous dedication, they are finally able to supply their town with trays of eggs ranging from PHP 280 to PHP 290 each. Along with Teresita’s continued preparation and sale of delicacies, this livelihood sustained the family.

In 2016, Teresita became a client of CARD, Inc. (A Microfinance NGO). As a client, she availed her first loan amounting to PHP 3,000. It helped her sustain their egg farming business.

In 2021, she took out a PHP 20,000 loan and opened another venture: growing seedlings.

Together with her husband, she nurtured lanzones seedlings into saplings and sold them for PHP 130 to PHP 150 each.

However, during the summer season, the business becomes more challenging due to intense heat and rapid soil dehydration, requiring them to monitor and water the seedlings constantly.

Despite these challenges, they continue growing the seedlings and supply their customers, reaching the different areas of Laguna and Batangas.

And just like the chickens that patiently waited to lay eggs, Teresita’s life is now taking shape.

All of their children are now married and have their own families, and she is now a grandmother to eight grandchildren. Despite reaching this stage in life, she never stops managing their business.

Recently, Teresita availed a PHP 50,000 loan, which she distributed as working capital across her three businesses to ensure their continued growth and sustainability.

Today, they earn around PHP 60,000 monthly from their egg distribution. Teresita’s built reputation for her native delicacies has her continuously preparing pre-order dishes and earning PHP 2,000 for every batch of orders. Meanwhile, their lanzones saplings generate around PHP 20,000 in monthly earnings.

Life for her may now be sufficient and contented. But for Teresita, reaching this stage took years of strategic resourcefulness, consistency, and hard work of patiently nurturing what they have.