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PATAMABA-OXFAM PROJECT: Strengthening the Marketing Network of Women Workers in the Informal Economy Towards Advancing Fair, Just and Sustainable Trade

VEGE-POWDER “BUDBOD SUSTANSIYA” PRODUCTS OF BALINGASA

The Budbod Sustansiya Project was conceived to empower women as agents rather than just recipients of development. It was designed to initialize the development of home-based food industries and women-managed enterprise to help poor women increase their income, improve their families’ access to safe and healthy food and enhance their technology and entrepreneurial skills.

Five organizations - APPROTECH Asia, Women Inventors Association of the Philippines, Inc. (WIAPI), Integral Development Services (IDS), PATAMABA and Technology Enterprise Associates (TEA) - forged a partnership to implement the program on “Nutritional and Functional Foods for Women’s Empowerment and Sustainable Development”. With UNDP funding, Budbod Sustansiya was tested in PATAMABA-Balingasa to see its nutritional effects on malnourished children and lactating mothers yielding positive results.

The Product Budbod Sustansiya is a vegetable topping that can be used as flavoring to numerous food products. Aside from improving the taste of foods, it provides nutrients to the body to maintain good health. This product is powder-like form, green in color and has a pleasing aroma. It is basically made from fresh green leafy vegetables that are most high in Vitamin A such as malungay, kangkong, kamote, alugbati and pechay. Other nutritious ingredients such as sesame seeds and milk powder further enhance its nutritional value.

Pulvoron, a powder candy, is a nutritious delicacy mixed with Budbod sustansiya. This is one of the best selling food products in Balingasa, with regular and constant market. Molded or shaped in oblong or circular with diameter measuring 2-2.5 inches, are wrapped in colored cellophane.

Budbod sustansiya can last up to six months if packed in polythelene bags and for more than one year in flexi-film packs. Pulvoron can last up to one month when refrigerated.

The Producer/s From 1998 to 2002, PATAMABA-Balingasa after undergoing an intensive training in Budbod Sustansiya production became the organization’s pool of trainors and trained other members of PATAMABA chapters nationwide. The Chapter is a stakeholder of a technology for producing the Budbod Sustansiya mixture, thus creating a unique product that combines good taste and nutritional value.

PATAMABA-Balingasa has concentrated in using Budbod Sustansiya mixture in the production of pulvoron. This is one of the best selling food products in Balingasa, with regular and constant market.

Pre-production of the Budbod Sustansiya mixture involves a combination of activities from planting and production of green leafy vegetables, cooking, processing and packaging. Because of its beneficial effects on the health, the women are encouraged to use organic/pesticide-free methods of planting. Although the present producers of Balingasa are not into vegetable production, there do exist PATAMABA Chapters who are engaged in vegetable production that could be mobilized to provide a steady supply of the fresh and organically produced vegetables. The cost of producing and transporting these vegetables to the next chain (processing and packaging) should be considered in the selling price of the vegetable. Hence, the Balingasa producers consider it more practical, cost wise, to source their vegetable requirements from the wet market nearby, rather than travel and purchase from the PATAMABA Chapter in Bulacan.

Under the present set-up, Ka Nida, who is the Balingasa Chapter Coordinator, handles the marketing and promotion of the Budbod Sustansiya mixture and pulvoron. Other PATAMABA chapters involved in the buy and sell business are also part of this chain of activity by becoming the marketing outlets of Budbod Sustansiya.

The husbands of the producers of Budbod Sustansya are either retired, jobless or workers with irregular jobs in the formal sector. When there is a scheduled production for the Budbod Sustansya, the women producers request their husbands to perform the household chores for the day. Normally the production process takes only 8-10 hours of work. Supportive of the organization’s productive activities, the husbands also help repair the cooking equipment such as stoves, carry heavy load for them when they market for the ingredients and raw materials and help in cleaning the work area, before and after production. This shows that the stereotyped reproductive roles expected from women have changed and sometimes are reversed when the woman becomes the sole breadwinner of the family.
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Production Process and Marketing The Budbod Sustansiya is a patented process developed by WIAPI. The technology is simple and can be produced by women using clean kitchen utensils, and can easily be transferred to rural and urban poor women. The raw materials are indigenous and can be easily sourced from wet markets or grown in backyards or home gardens. Made from a mixture of 5 green leafy vegetables, sesame seeds, iodized salt, and skimmed milk, Budbod sustansiya is 100% natural source of beta carotene and major nutrients.

The production of Budbod sustansiya and pulvoron is a group enterprise using a grant fund of P40,000.00 from the Bureau of Rural Workers under the Department of Labor and Employment (BRW-DOLE). Starting from borrowed equipment and kitchen utensils from members, the grant enabled the group to buy and acquire the following fixed assets: stainless steel frying pan/wok with cover and strainer or metal colander, burner, 2 gas tank, 3 sets of tray measuring spoons, wooden and metal ladle. This fund is also used as revolving capital for raw materials and ingredients.

Production involves clear and delineated roles among the producers. Nida Antonio as Chapter Coordinator, provides the overall supervision on the entire production process. After taking and recording the order for pulvoron, she requests Nini Coronel to list all the raw materials needed for marketing. Divina Cesar and Dada buy the needed supplies and materials. Dolores and Marissa handle the preparation and cooking of Budbod Sustansiya mixture and get paid for P25.00 per hour. Nida Antonio undertakes the final mixing of the ingredients for pulvoron with the Budbod sustansiya mixture. The wrapping of pulvoron is handled by Malou Arsenal and all other producers and are paid P.10 per piece. Vic Arsenal, the only male producer of the enterprise, handles the delivery of the product to its customers.

To estimate the actual volume of Budbod sustansiya produced, production is normally done twice a month with a 30 kilos output of the mixture. The 30 kilos of Budbod sustansiya after mixing with other ingredients for pulvoron, can yield about 1,700 pieces of pulvoron.

As a group enterprise, the net income from the sale of pulvoron are kept and maintained by its Treasurer. For a monthly production of 30 kilos of Budbod Sustansiya mixture, yields 1700 pulvoron. At P.10 per piece, a total of P170 labor cost, are divided among the producers for the output.

Pulvoron is sold at P5.00 per piece and total gross sales per month is P8,500.00. Cost of production of 30 kilos Budbod Sustansiya is rounded off at P4,500.00, therefore, net income per month is estimated at P4,000.00

For lack of equipment and enclosed space or kitchen that can be devoted for the production of Budbod Sustansiya, the producers’ capacity to produce and maximize its market potentials is limited. At present, production processes are done in an open space beside the organization’s center. Nida Antonio admits that the lack of a permanent facility or kitchen owned by the organization is one of the inhibiting factors why the group has not fully maximized the production of Budbod sustansiya mixture and other by-products like pulvoron.

At present, the only Budbod sustansiya by-product produced within a regular interval and with a constant market, is pulvoron. Their market for pulvoron consists of the retail buyers composed of children, mothers and other small stores in the area; and intermittent large scale buyers (who are mostly friends of the organization) during special occasions such as Christmas, Valentines, All Soul’s Day. The demand for pulvoron per year is estimated at 21,000 pieces.

Occupational Safety and Health Issues The working area is just an open space beside the organization’s center. To meet regular demand and occasional large quantity orders, cooking of Budbod sustansiya is done at least twice a month. On these occasions, the open space are cleaned and cleared of obstructive items. During the production process, burning and scalding from oil and steam are the health hazards. Producers also complain of upper respiratory illness as a result of too much perspiration due to the heat in the work place.

Neither is the workplace free of contaminants like cats, dogs and flies; thus, poor sanitation becomes a risk for the production process. Lack of flowing water and good drainage system also affects the product and the production process that demands a clean and hygienic environment. Utensils and cooking paraphernalia are not properly secured and kept for lack of cabinets in the work place.

The lack of equipment and kitchen utensils such as freezers, horizontal or vertical pressers, vat with built-in mechanical agitator, oven, leaf holders and drainers, etc. affects their ability to go large scale in the production of Budbod sustansiya. At present, when there are orders for other Budbod Sustansiya by-products such bread sticks, cookies, chiffon cake, mammon, and Spanish bread, the producers request a bakeshop nearby (Karen Bakery) to produce these for them. For other by-products such as burger patties, ice cream, Budbod Sustansiya cube, lumpiang shanghai, and pancit noodles, the producers make use of the Philippine Coconut Auntority (PCA) facilities. Unless these concerns are settled, the plan to expand to other market for a variety of Budbod sustansiya by-products is difficult to attain.