At 23 years old, Veronica Denoy got married and had her first child.
“I did not know then what I really wanted in life. All that was important for me was that my husband and I were together. Later we realized that was not enough to survive,” said Denoy, one of several vendors at the Carreta public cemetery in Cebu City.
Her mother-in-law helped them earn a living among the dead.
“She used to sell flowers and snack items in the cemetery. She taught me how to make candles from used candle wax that we’d scrape up and melt in a pan,” she said.
Without money for capital, Denoy managed to make her first batch of candles, which she sold to cemetery visitors at P1 each.
In 1982, she joined her mother-in-law in the cemetery to earn a living, selling home-made candles and offering to clean burial plots for a fee.
Patrons
Denoy said visitors pay her P50 to P200 a month to clean up and place flowers on top of the graves of their loved ones.
“I used to be scared because when I first started, I really saw a ghost walking with chains tied to his feet. I had sleepless nights and almost gave up until a faith healer told me to just pray the rosary,” Denoy said.
She starts her day at 4 a.m, heading to Freedom Park to buy raw materials for candles as well as snack items and flowers to sell at her stall.
Now 52 years old, Denoy said she is lucky to have been among the first vendors in the Carreta cemetery.
For nearly two decades, she’s had patrons who buy her candles and flowers and hire her to clean the tombs daily.
“They already know me and trust me so every time they visit, especially during All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day, they look for me.
“ They also order candles and flowers ahead of time,” Denoy said.
On slow days, especially during the rainy season, Denoy earns P200 to P300.
With that amount, she buys food for her family and raw materials for candles and other stall items for vending.
On peak days, said Denoy, she earns P1,000 a day.
Candles cost as low as P1 each. Visitors pay P30 for candles placed in glass containers.
She sells flowers at P10 a bundle, which she arranges herself in empty recycled water bottles, a technique she learned from her mother-in-law.
Many people show up at the cemetery to visit their departed loved ones as early as August.
Denoy said vendors like her are kept busy from then on until Nov. 1 and 2.
Brighter future
Denoy gets help from her six children in selling her simple items to cemetery visitors.
“They help me out and also find their own ways to earn income because they’re all married and have their own families to support,” Denoy said.
Out of necessity, she goes to her stall daily, a routine she kept even immediately after giving birth.
“I can’t rely on my husband for everything because he can only do so much. It’s a waste to just stay home not earning anything for the day,” she said.
At present, Denoy is supporting one of her grandchildren who is studying at the Carreta Elementary School.
“One of my customers offered to help send her to school and I agreed. I’m giving her allowance every day,” she said.
Denoy said her only regret is that she was unable to send her children to school because she couldn’t afford to do so.
“Now I’m really encouraging my grandchildren to go to school and finish a degree. While I’m thankful for this livelihood, I also want to see them have a brighter future and a better life than what I had with my children,” Denoy said.