BUSINESS BITS

The magic of fossil flowers
Paul Icamina and Art Tibaldo

CABARROGUIS, Quirino – From the remote village of Banuar to Tokyo , Joyce V. Leal has come a long way. And all because of “fossilized” flowers, or preserved blooms made out of ordinary leaves.

“For her dedication and commitment, she has contributed in institutionalizing the fossilized flower industry that created employment and increased income of women entrepreneurs” in Quirino, reads her citation from the Department of Science and Technology.

DOST technology has turned Leal’s world literally into a colorful business, doubling her sales and workforce, increasing production that now utilize 200 kilograms (up from 100 kilos) of indigenous plants and grasses.

Because of the DOST dyeing technology she was taught, her products are highly competitive because the flowers maintain their deep colors. Decorative fossilized flowers are made of leaves to make petals; twigs are used for stems.

The leaves are soaked in caustic soda to get rid of the green chlorophyll color. They are then bleached in hydrogen peroxide to transform them into white that can be dyed in a variety of colors.

They are called fossilized because they now have been preserved. Then Leal does her magic, dyeing the leaves in a profusion of colors and crafting them into roses, rosals, daisies, sunflowers and anthuriums.

It is enchanting because the fossilized flowers come from what were once considered the ordinary leaves of narra, guava, guyabano, mahogany, avocado, jackfruit and alibangbang.
Take the leaves of alibangbang, or the Formosa tree, whose leaves resemble somewhat the shape of a butterfly.

The Formosa tree has traditionally been regarded of no use other than as a shade or perhaps firewood. The fruit is not edible, the flower not decorative and the wood not even considered material for lumber.

And there lies the beauty of Leal’s craft – turning ordinary leaves considered as waste into something a lot more valuable. “Any leaf, in fact, will do,” she says. “But I use these leaves because they are available in our barangay and even in my backyard.”

She says the alibangbang leaf is the most durable of the leaves she is currently using.
“We gather about 100 kilograms of fresh leaves from just six trees,” Leal says, “and from my backyard alone.” One tree provides 25 kilos of fresh leaves, enough raw material to make 100,000 fossilized buds or 50,000 blooms.

After two months, the trees are ready for another harvest of leaves. Once the leaves are dyed and crafted, they are retailed for about P5 per piece. That’s a lot of money for ordinary leaves once destined to the dustbin or the fire heap.

Leal doesn’t profit alone. Her neighbors also earn by shaping the dyed leaves into fossilized flowers. They earn from P1 (small, medium) to P1.50 (large, extra large) per flower crafted. Ten neighbors currently craft the fossilized flowers and five harvest the leaves.

Leal doesn’t keep the good fortune to her neighborhood – she has taught many others how to make fossilized flowers. Since February, nearby towns have adopted Leal’s unique handicraft.
Indeed, Leal oversees the production and marketing of fossilized flowers made by similar households and cottage industries in Cabarroguis, Maddela, Diffun and Saguday towns – all in Quirino province.

These towns have made fossilized flowers as their own “ One Town , One Product” centerpiece. At the same time, she has trained 15 members of a Cabarroguis cooperative in the art of making fossilized flowers.

And it all started from a P50,000 grant from DOST Region II for Leal to acquire a 30-kg capacity grass dryer and bleaching tanks. The processing technology came from the Philippine Textile Research Institute of DOST. PTRI improved Leal’s bleaching and dyeing processes and techniques. This helped produced colorfastness and brittleness of the bleached leaves.

DOST’s Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading program later provided P157,349 for the acquisition of tools and equipment for the production of novelty items from barks, twigs and branches for the fossilized flowers and grasses.

As a result, sales increased by 100 percent. Leal’s neighbors had additional incomes too. To top it all, Leal plans to market her flowers at trade fairs in Tokyo and Dubai this year.


Promoting local Luzon products

The successful conduct of the second “One town one product” Luzon Island fair in Mandaluyong proved that partnership between government units and micro, small and medium entrepreneurs does not only help boost local industry, generate employment to the communities but it also necessary in economic sustainability.

Considered one of the most promising programs of the government, the OTOP has already generated P3.27 billion in investments, employed 142,227 persons, earned P3.278 billion in export and domestic sales and mobilized at least 9,473 small businesses into involvement.

In his speech during the second launching of OTOP at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall, Vice President Noli De Castro emphasized the roles of local elected officials saying "sa ilalim ng OTOP, may malaking papel ang mga local government executives sa pagpili ng produkto o serbisyo kung saan mayroong competitive advantage ang kanilang mga lugar."

De Castro said he envisions OTOP as an assembly line where everyone has a stake and a significant role in promoting local products by which that town or province will be identified with.

The Department of Trade and Industry-Cordillera under Director Carmelita C. Usman orchestrated the five day event from August 8 to 12 at SM Megamall with eight participating regions.

Exhibitors from the Cordillera showcased the region's products such as bamboo crafts, silver crafts, roasted coffee, processed tilapia, Unoy rice, vegetables & strawberries and fruit wines. Baguio through its management information systems and planning office showcased the city's industry which is information technology-based human resources.

Entrepreneurs from Ilocos Region displayed their chichacorn and longanisa, woven fabrics of La Union and Pangasinan's Bunoan milkfish. Cagayan Valley exhibited their uniquely designed chairs and tables, black bottled wines from Batanes, fossilized flowers from Quirino and citrus drinks from Nueva Vizcaya.

Pampanga showcased Christmas lanterns and food items such as tocino and crab paste.The famous barong tagalog and finely woven pineapple fabrics was featured by Bulacan.
Calabarzon, on the other hand presented their age old coffee industry like as the Liberica coffee bean of Batangas which is also known as Barako.

Exhibitors of Quezon brought their famous lambanog products while traders of Laguna brought their paper mache and the housewares and holiday decors of Rizal accented the event with vivid colors. MIMAROPA polished its products with marbles from Romblon and the Bicol region featured its abaca and pili nuts.

The National Capital Region presented Filipiniana-inspired dolls of San Juan, bottled balut delicacy of Pateros, puto panara of Taguig and animation of Pasay City.

In her report to Trade Undersecretary Carissa Cruz-Evangelista, Usman said that hard work and commitment on both the government and SMEs ensured the realization of OTOP's main objective, which is to parallel countryside development with urban progress.

The five day event generated over P13.million in sales which doubled the proceeds of last year's OTOP Luzon Fair. Abra's bamboo craft is the region's top selling products while Baguio only promoted its IT industry through multi-media presentations.

Usec. Evangelista who was instrumental in the implementation of the OTOP program nationwide said during the fair opening that "the products featured by the 173 participating small and medium entrepreneurs are treasures of the island, reflective of each town's unique culture and rich heritage".

Meanwhile, entrepreneurs from the Cordillera will have another round of exposure in the big city as IMPAKABSAT, the trade fair which the region was identified with is already scheduled this November at the Festival Mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa.