During the pandemic, Manila Bulletin Agriculture featured Erl Orenza, founder of Salbahe Manufacturing Corporation, and his journey as a farmer and entrepreneur. Orenza turned his father’s land in Pangasinan into a chili farm and began producing condiments from the harvests. Salbahe’s initial line featured chili oil, crunchy garlic, chili bagoong, and flavored peanuts.

Back then, Orenza was a marketing executive in a broadcasting company. Six years later, Orenza has gone into agripreneurship full-time, working towards his dream of having a jar of Salbahe in every Filipino home, and possibly beyond. “When we did the first interview, I was still employed, I was doing chili farming, and the brand Salbahe was really a passion project,” Orenza said.

When Orenza graced the cover of the September-October issue of Manila Bulletin Agriculture magazine (MB Agriculture) in 2020, people were quarantined in their homes, looking for ways to pass the time, including cooking and gardening. It meant an increase in orders, as well as messages from other corporate employees asking for help establishing a farm business. “I said I wasn’t an expert, but I could share what I know,” Orenza said in Taglish. “Somehow, that article helped them realize that they can do something else.”

The journey hasn’t been easy. Orenza, like many of his colleagues, was laid off during the pandemic. “It was really hard, but Salbahe became my source of income, where I get the money to buy food for my family,” Orenza said. There were many adjustments, including moving from Metro Manila to Imus, Cavite, to manage expenses.

In 2021, he joined another entertainment company. By this time, his family had relocated to Cavite to manage expenses, so the commute to Manila, while manageable at first, became impractical once the world opened up and he was required to be in the office five days a week. “I was staying in my parents’ house [in the metro][ to save money, but I missed my kids. They were growing up, and I didn’t want to miss their formative years,” Orenza said. “I told my wife that we should fully concentrate on Salbahe. The Lord gave us this opportunity, and we should explore it.”

The first thing they did was set up a commissary and complete the necessary paperwork. “We started in July 2022. By December, we were out in bazaars.”

He credits Maureen, his wife and Salbahe’s operations manager, for helping him get the business up and running. It took them almost a year before a retail specialty store accepted their application. This opened the doors to their presence in various grocery stores and retail outlets. “The key is consistency,” Orenza said. “I’m still doing Salbahe, and God has blessed me with opportunities.”

Aside from retail distribution, Salbahe has expanded its product line to include Spanish sardines and bottled bangus produced in cooperation with a supplier from Dipolog, who has access to fresh catch.

Since transferring to Imus, Orenza had to let go of his Pangasinan farm. It has since been converted to an okra farm managed by his cousin. He partnered with three farmers from Alfonso, Cavite, for his chili supply. Coincidentally, one of them was one of the folks who contacted Orenza, asking for tips on setting up a farm after reading about him in MB Agriculture. “I buy their harvests at market price, not farmgate… I know what it’s like to farm, so I’m returning what made me happy before.”

Orenza has recently begun collaborating with a renewable energy company as part of the latter’s agrivoltaics program, where land is used for both crop and energy production. Working with three partner farmers, the chili chili harvests are brought to the Cavite commissary, where Salbahe manufactures them into specialty products which are bought by the renewable energy company, with Salbahe and the farmers sharing the profit.

Salbahe’s business model of sharing also extends to its employees, who get a percentage from every order they fulfill.

Orenza said that things started picking up only last year. But now that they’ve entered a groove, they hope to expand to more retail outlets, including export. He also hopes to build a bigger commissary and start another chili farm, this time in Cavite.

What Orenza loves most about his job is that he gets to spend time with his family. “At first I asked the Lord why I was let go, but I realized that it was because it was the opportunity to concentrate on Salbahe… Now I get to be with my kids. I get to enjoy what I do because it’s my own brand.”

He cites “prayers and consistency” as the secrets to his success. “It’s easy to get tired,” he said. “But I tell myself that it’s easy to get tired doing a corporate job too, and that business isn’t even ours. This one is.” (Photos by Eri Orenza)