A group of mushroom growers from Bohol, who raises mushrooms on a small space in a house, now have the capital to expand their enterprise after winning a P100,000 grant from the Pitch for Hope project which aims to fight poverty through business opportunities.

PITCH FOR HOPE WINNERS – SINAMAWOVA Savings Group leader Marilyn Veler (3rd from left), Golden Flowers Savings Group leader Maria Lina Raposa, (center), and Himakas Barbaza Savings Group representative Madonna Baccay, (3rd from right) with the judges, from left, Executive Director BPI Foundation Owen Cammayo, TV host and broadcaster Christine Bersola-Babao, (2nd from right) ICM CEO David Sutherland, and Bank of Commerce consumer protection department assistant vice president Francisco Raymund Gonzales. (Pancho Parian)

The winning group, the SINAMAWOVA (San Isidro Native Maker, Worker and Vendor Association) Savings Group from Maribojoc, Bohol, is into oyster mushroom production.  It is led by Marilyn Veler who lives with her husband and child in a house where the mushrooms are raised.

She said that they came up with the mushroom business after a training program conducted by the Department of Agriculture after Typhoon Odette hit their town in Nov. 2021.

They now have three products – the fully grown white oyster mushroom which can be eaten by itself or used as a garnish; the ‘Mother Culture’ bottles that use liquid fungus to grow mushrooms, and the ‘Spawn Culture’ which is the ‘seed’ for mushroom compost.

Marilyn’s interest in agriculture started during the pandemic when she could no longer make doormats which she used to sell.

SINAMAWOVA SAVINGS Group from Bohol won the P100,000 grant for their mushroom production business. (Pancho Parian)

“Di enough income ng asawa ko nun para makabili ng pangangailangan namin, kaya nagtatanim tanim ako para di na kami bibili, mas magannda yung sarili mo na alam mo paano siya ginawa (My husband’s income was not enough for our daily needs, that’s why I started planting so that we wouldn’t need to buy anymore),” she added.

Marilyn said that they plan to use the prize money to put up a structure dedicated for growing the mushrooms to expand the business and create jobs in the area.

Banana Chips

The first runner-up – Banana Chips with Honey – took home a P75,000 grant. The business is run by the Golden Flowers Savings Group from Koronadal, South Cotabato.

Since the members slice the bananas by hand to make the chips, Maria Lina Raposa, 64, the leader of the group, said they will invest their winnings in purchasing a slicer machine to keep up with the demand.

The presentation of banana chips business plan of the first runners-up Golden Flowers Savings Group from South Cotabato. (Pancho Parian)

“Bago po ang ICM, marami ang problema samin na nabubulok lang ang saging, walang value (before the ICM helped us, the biggest problem we were facing was that the bananas were rotting, it had no value),” Maria said.

Their savings group consists of 27 people, including honey hunters and farmers.

Squash Snacks

The second runner-up – Himakas Barbaza Saving Group from Kalibo –produces healthy snack and noodles made from squash. They were awarded a P60,000 grant.

According to Madonna Baccay, Himakas’ member, they saw the potential of their product “Squashey Veggie” due to its healthy characteristics and a plentiful supply of squash in their area.

The presentation of the squash snack business plan of the second runners-up Himakas Barbaza Savings Group from Kalibo. (Pancho Parian)

Madonna said that they will use the prize money to improve their product and to purchase a dough maker to improve production.

Pitch for Hope

The program is conducted by Bacolod-based non-profit International Care Ministries (ICM), which aims to combat poverty with a business approach to help families in Palawan, Visayas, and Mindanao under the ultra-poverty category who are living on less than P25 a day.

ICM holds transform programs which conducts values and health training, as well as livelihood opportunities. After the program, participants are encouraged to join a savings group to practice what they learned by saving as little as P5 to P10 a week. They can then invest the savings or capital they made over time in small or low-risk businesses, group enterprises, home improvement, or even medical needs.

“It is good for savings groups to experience this kind of competition because it improves their storytelling skills as it trains them how to tell potential investors the heart behind why they started the business and why it matters,” said Jeriby Malatin who manages the network of savings group leaders.

Pitch for Hope was launched in 2019. The goal is to support business ideas from the savings groups by providing them with working capital to acquire assets, fund operations, and grow their investment.

ICM CEO David Sutherland noted that an “overwhelming 588 business pitches were received” from 30 ICM branches in 10 bases situated across the southern Philippines this year, with business ideas ranging from detergent making, coconut dehusking services, and ukay-ukay selling.

The business pitches were judged based on innovation, demand, business potential for growth and sustainability, and employment opportunities for those in their respective communities.

Sutherland said they aim to make the initiative a yearly event to help people that fall under the ultra-poverty category, so that “every person could have dependable and sustainable income access to savings.”

ICM was founded in 1992. It relies on donations to fund its projects, among them, the Pitch for Hope event and the Transform Program. According to their website, they have reached more than 1.3 million people living in poverty over the last decade. They attribute their wide impact to the partnerships they made with local churches in the slum communities. (Pancho Parian)