 Dad's Special Pinangat
The town of Camalig in the province of Albay is known for its famous native delicacy called pinangat - a vegetable dish with taro or gabi leaves as main ingredient mixed with selected local natural herbs and fillings cooked in coconut milk.
A simple, regular household dish, commonly
served during fiestas and other family celebrations
in the community, pinangat has also captured the
taste buds of non-Bikolanos, especially local and
foreign tourists who love to eat spicy and
delicious dishes.Ronaldo Nicerio or "Dad" for short, owner of Dad's Special Pinangat, is one of the pioneering pinangat processors who went on commercial production and marketing of the product in Camalig. Pinangat - making is not new to Dad. He was already making it since he was 12 years old - helping out his aunt, a home economics teacher who sold pinangat as a sideline business. Production volume continued to increase as more people came to know about and liked the taste of Dad’s pinangat.
Production volume continued to increase as
more people came to know about and liked the
taste of his pinangat.
For two years, Dad was cooking pinangat
by himself because he could not afford to hire
a helper due to his limited working capital.
In 2001, he built the production area cum store
and hired three workers to meet the continuously
increasing demand. His wife Janet also came
to the rescue and helped him in marketing.
With orders continuously coming in from as far
as Manila and other parts of the country, Dad
started to program the production volume.
Dad proudly shows off his Most Inspiring Bicolano Micro Entrepreneur award during the Go Negosyo sa Bicol
Caravan last 30 January 2009.
He also began to freeze the pinangat to extend
its shelf life to more than a year without affecting
its palatability.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
started to assist the company in 2005 via the
One Town, One Product-Philippines
(OTOP- Philippines) program when Camalig
identified pinangat as its OTOP product.
The product was tested in a laboratory in Manila
for its nutritional contents, a pre-requisite for
registration with the Bureau of Foods and Drugs
(BFAD). Subsequently, the License to Operate
was issued to the company in 2007.
A new packaging material was also acquired
together with new electric-powered coconut
grating machine.
Dad regularly joins trade fairs in Metro Manila
such as the Orgullo kan Bikol Regional Trade Fair,
and the OTOP Luzon Island Fair (OLIF),
promoting pinangat further to new markets
resulting in new customers, both individual
and institutional.
From the initial P500.00 capital in 1999, Dad’s
business assets have increased to P700,000.00
as of December 2008.
Dad’s Special Pinangat has been awarded as the
Most Inspiring Bicolano Micro Entrepreneur
during the Go Negosyo sa Bicol Caravan last
30 January 2009.
With an innate entrepreneurial spirit, Dad is
ready to join the ranks of successful micro
entrepreneurs that can inspire others to pursue
their dreams of making it in the world of business.
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