Pick and Squeeze: 
Quenching the Thirst for a Successful Business




Calamansi is a fruit that all Filipinos are accustomed to – as a cooking ingredient, for whitening, or to heal simple cough. This is also the reason why, 13 years ago, Stella Cepeda and husband Randy, owners of Pick and Squeeze, used this as the main ingredient for their product – calamansi natural fruit concentrate. Read more.






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THE CLASSIC ROAST: From Bazaars to Malls!




Lack of capital is not a hindrance in business. Polly Quizon and Denise Owyong proved this statement to be true when they put up The Classic Roast, a business that offers fresh roast ducks. Read more.



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Anabel Importa: From "Call-girl" to FERNtrepreneur!



After four years of being in the call center industry, Anabel Importa, 24 from Pasig City, longed for change other than saying her script, “How may I help you today?” She was one of the thousands who entered the industry right after college. “At first, the experience was good because it was a high-paying job, compared to the salary of a regular employee. But eventually, my body clock had a hard time adjusting because of the shifting and graveyard schedule – it is dangerous to travel during the wee hours of the night and it took it’s toll on my health,” Anabel recalls. Read more.

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The Business Side of CARMINA VILLAROEL



“I ventured into this kind of business because I really love shoes, more than clothes and bags – shoes all the way!” This was Carmina Villaroel’s opening statement to us during the interview. As you may well know, Carmina is a popular celebrity and TV host. She was telling us how her business, Muñiz shoes, started out. “As an artist, I need a lot of shoes – shoes of different colors is always better. I like loud and unusual colors. That’s when I realized that it’s not easy to find these colors. It’s also hard to find comfy, stylish, yet affordable shoes. It was Zoren (Legaspi, Carmina’s parnter) who pushed me to start this business, since it is my hobby (to collect shoes) and many are saying that in starting a business, it must be about what you really want to do. The first thing I did for the business was to think of a good and catchy business name. It was also Zoren who suggested for me to use my middle name, Muñiz.” Read more.
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Gifts and Graces: A Blessing to Livelihood Programs



There’s probably a thousand of non government organizations (NGO) and people’s organizations (PO) already in the Philippines which provide the less fortunate with livelihood programs to not only sustain, but to enhance their way of living. But according to the survey conducted by Sandy Romualdez and Marge Barro, founders of Gifts and Graces, NGOs and POs need help in product development and access to markets for the products that they are able to produce through these livelihood programs. Gifts and Graces Fair Trade Foundation, Inc. was founded last January 2006 as the answer to this need. “Gifts and Graces is a social enterprise which helps provide more income to the disadvantaged groups that are part of the livelihood programs of NGOs and POs,” explained Gregorie ‘Greg’ Perez, Executive Director of Gifts and Graces. Read more.


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Benefit from Worms through Vermicomposting


Vermicomposting is defined as the production of compost with the use of worms. It is a fast way to convert organic farm waste into organic fertilizer. It degrades waste as vermi or earthworm (African night crawler) feed on and digest waste materials. 





Vermicomposting results in a better quality product that is produced in only 4-6 weeks compared to ordinary compost that is produced in 8-12 weeks.




“Vermicompost” or the castings of the earthworms is an soil enhancer and bioactive fertilizer for organic farming.  Earthworms can also be made into feed for fish or other domesticated animals. Learn more.