PROMOTING NATIVE PRODUCTS — Xavier University students showing off their abaca bags.

MANILA, Philippines — For almost a year now, graduating students Chris Lynn Caballes Jumalon, Oliver Dave Maneja and their friends have been skipping classes. But this is not to attend parties or hang-out with the barkada. These seven individuals -- budding social entrepreneurs all -- are busy attending to their business called Ethniko Filipino Handicrafts (EFH).

As Business Administration students of Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan, they were required to establish a temporary business where they could apply concepts they learned in class. After attending a student entrepreneurship program in Manila and getting valuable tips from successful entrepreneurs, Chris and Oliver felt that the best business to pursue was one that could create a life-changing impact to an impoverished community.

EFH was thus born, engaging the Lagonglong community of weavers to produce fashionable bags, wallets, laptop cases, shoes and other items made of abaca. Under the program Strands and Hands, EFH seeks to empower and uplift the lives of the weavers and their families through income from the manufacture and sale of the hand-made, eco-friendly products.

“We want to build a strong branding of our country through the use of indigenous materials such as abaca. We have a very rich culture and tradition that is slowly being forgotten. We want people to look at the products not just as souvenir items but as items that can be used daily. By purchasing our products, the clients are getting more of what they are paying for as they are helping improve the lives of the Lagonglong community,” stresses Chris, EFH’s sales manager.

She adds that the products which they designed are modern, stylish and attractive to the young generation, the target market.

JOYS AND PAINS

Starting and managing the business are very difficult tasks for these students who did not have any experience at all. Every week, they would travel two hours by bus, and then by habal habal to reach the remote mountain village of Lagonglong in Umagos, Misamis Oriental. It also took them a while to convince the farmers and their wives that they are really serious with the business.

“Nung una akala nila niloloko lang namin sila at naglalaro lang kami. Pero nung nakita nila na linggo-linggo kami andun sa kanila at seryoso sa pagtatrabaho, mas naenganyo silang ituloy tuloy na yung paghahabi ng mga produkto,” Chris explains.

The process is labor intensive as farmers first have to get abaca plants from the mountain, convert it into dried strands, connect the strands together, dye and finally weave them.

“The hands of the weavers are being beaten badly while weaving the cloth. Because of this we recognize the efforts of the community and pay them for their labor. The weavers are also paid for the weaving (per meter) and sewing, and will also get 20 percent from the annual income of EFH,” says Chris.

AIMING FOR SUSTAINABILITY

While the other school projects of their batchmates have ended, Chris and Oliver’s group continues to thrive. Apart from the shops in Cebu and Cagayan de Oro that carry their products, EFH also regularly joins trade fairs.

While the reception of the public is overwhelming, Chris says they plan to concentrate on the local market as they still have a lot to learn when it comes to the export business.

EFH is now in the process of training more weavers and constructing its own weaving center. It is also meeting with prospective partners who are interested in marketing their products.

CHANGEMAKER

EFH general manager Oliver Maneja says when their group learned about the "I Am a Changemaker" 2011 competition, they felt that they stand a chance with a noble project such as theirs.

"We share the same advocacy that the contest wants to inculcate in young people. We believe that even as college students, we can already create small but significant changes in society. We believe in our community and the potential of our product and we don’t want to waste what we have. So being risk takers, we are always on the lookout for opportunities where we can succeed. Our philosophy is we will never know unless we try so we grab every opportunity that comes our way," Oliver says.

Even as the the group felt they were the underdogs in the contest organized by the British Council, they were chosen as the Mindanao winner.

"I guess we won because we have a purpose and that is our community. God knows how hard we worked for it and how badly we needed this chance so he made it all possible," says Oliver.

The P100,000 prize money they received is now being used for the procurement of weaving looms and sewing machines, for the production of the products and other components of the business operations.

Indeed, the future is bright for these young entrepreneurs who have endless opportunities awaiting them. But for now, they are choosing to focus on their small business and in changing the lives of the Lagonglong community.

"All these efforts are not just for the money, for the profit that we will earn. If that was what we're after, we can easily do it, without the involvement of a community. But we choose to do it with them and in a difficult way because we believe the rewards are far greater than the hardships. One fulfillment is the happiness we feel whenever we see the improvement in the lives of the weavers and their families. So we vow to make it big for them because this was never about us, but about them," ends Chris.