Pangasinan delicacy Phl;s 3rd best livelihood business

WINNER. The Department of Labor and Employment congratulates Perfect Caballero Jr. for his family's patotoy-making business, which won as the third best livelihood project in the country. Caballero's family earns more or less PHP30,000 a month from their native delicacy-making business. (Photo courtesy of DOLE-Ilocos Region)

 Small town venture getting bigger 

By Hilda Austria 

INFANTA, Pangasinan – A patotoy (native delicacy) making venture of a family in this town was awarded as the third-best Dept. of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-assisted livelihood project in the country.

    The native delicacy known for its sweetness is made of glutinous rice as the outer coating and yema or ube as its filling.

    Perfect Caballero Jr., the head of the family, said they started selling patotoy to their neighbors in 2017 and it soon became popular in the town.

    “It was just a snack prepared by my sister-in-law, Jenyfer Barretto during one of her visits to our home.

    She also taught my wife, Sheryl, and her other two sisters, how to make the snack. They used to make yema,” he said.

    Caballero said their neighbors who became regular consumers of their patotoy spread the word about the product to other people.

    In 2020, Caballero’s family along with other micro, small and medium enterprises received P20,000 worth of equipment and materials each from DOLE through the Integrated Livelihood Program for their native delicacy-making business.

    He said they now sell their products even to neighboring towns and cities of Pangasinan and Zambales.

    Caballero used to be a fisherman but has shifted his livelihood to patotoy-making along with his wife and children.

    “I also earn through pedicab driving and now we have this business that is very helpful to us,” he said.

    They sell their patotoy from P60 per tub to P700 for a large bilao size.

    Caballero added they now earn more or less P30,000 a month, which is enough for their needs and a little savings.

    The family plans to renovate a portion of their house with the prize money they received from DOLE.

    The livelihood of the Caballero family was among the 17 contingent projects under the individual category in the 2022 DOLE Kabuhayan Awards held at New Coast Hotel in Malate, Manila on May 27. -- PNA