Business plans for tablea, sarok hats vie for top spot

Home-made chocolate, tuba and sarok hats of farmers were  among the rural products that were improved and supported by business plans  crafted by  20 teams of college and university students competing in  the Cebu Obra Negosyo Eskwela on Wednesday.

The teams along with their partner entrepreneurs presented their business plans and product samples  for the final round of  judging at the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC).

Winners will be announced on June 6.

The top performing team will receive an additional P50,000 on top of a  P50,000 grant given them when they joined the contest.

The the top 10 enterprises will also be awarded P50,00 each.

Students of the University of San Carlos (USC) helped mass produce, package and market  tablea ,  a local dark chocolate made from cacao beans.

Even if they don’t get the top prize, their biggest fulfillment was helping their  partner entrepreneur Loma Dy of Sogod town grow her tablea business this summer,  said student John Muntuerto.

The team with the help of  USC’s  engineering department devised a  machine  that would mass produce  flat disks of local tablea. The team also improved the packaging of  tablea products.

Inspired by the program, Muntuerto said the final round does not mark the end of their partnership with Dy.

The group plans to visit Manila to learn more about cacao plantation management to further help the northern Cebu town of Sogod.

“The challenge was facing the reality of establishing a business. In the university, we are taught  skills to handle a business but when you get out there, it’s really  different from what the textbooks teach you,” he said.

Students of the University of the Philippines (UP)  worked with  sarok maker Guillerma Balaba of Consolacion town.

The  sarok, a wide-brimmed native hat made of bamboo strips and dried banana leaves,  is commonly used by farmers.

The partnership with Balaba  transformed her one-woman sarok enterprise into a business venture with 11 workers now called Guillerma’s Sarok Manufacturing, said Greta Almina Garcia, UP Cebu team member.

A lighter version was made of the the traditional bulky sarok along with product extensions like  sarok-styled  keyholders.

They  also made the native hat  more eye catching with  gloss, colorful cloth and ribbons.

The team arranged with  Island Souvenirs and Kultura store in SM  to display  Balaba’s sarok in their outlets.

Garcia said she learned  to be grateful for the small things in life by seeing how  the steps they took helped the business grow.

Wilma Elizabeth Rada of  St. Theresa’s College said  she learned to be more flexible in dealing with people after the team’s immersion in Sibonga town, south Cebu.

“I would really recommend this program especially to other provinces. The  program is very sustainable and must be continued,” said Rada.

Their partner entrepreneur Joe Mapa innovated the use of tuba or coconut wine  with cocktail mixes and variants.

Other participating schools were Cebu Normal University, University of the Visayas, University of Cebu, Southwestern University, Cebu Technological University, Benedicto College, University of Southern Philippines and Mandaue City College.

Each of the 20 teams spent time in towns and cities around the province where they acted as consultants to  microenterprises.

Now on its second run, Obra Negosyo Eskwela Countryside Enterprise Business Upliftment, is a collaboration of the Cebu provincial government, the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) and schools.

Business and management students are exposed to  entrepreneurial realities outside the classroom.

Gov. Gwendolyn  Garcia, in her speech, described Obra Negosyo Eskwela as the most “revolutionary and evolutionary” program since she sat as governor in  2004.

“Revolutionary because it has changed lives of people who never thought they would have hope and sufficient skill to improve their small businesses, which were  barely enough to send their children to school or buy food,” she said in Cebuano.

She said students arrived with their coaches and were given a chance to craft  business plans with actual funding.

The  progress of businesses of their partner entrepreneurs now contribute to the community, she added.