Virginia Lastima

Great Meals in Small Places

Still fresh in her mind is the memory of living with her parents-in-law under one roof and share whatever food they had until Viringia Lastima decided to open a small sari sari store, a carinderia and raise pigs to feed her family. Even if they did not go through harsh or painful quandary while living with them, the entire condition did not feel right for Virginia. She wanted to raise her family in a place where they can call it their own without thinking other extended family members.

With the support of her husband, Marcelito, and the little savings she had, she started her food vending business. Her customers were school children and teachers of an elementary school located near her in-laws’ house. Knowing the financial capability of her market, Virginia made sure that the dishes being served were close to home cooking. Packed in small plastic bags, Virginia made the food look as enticing as possible while establishing relationships with her customers.

Attracted to the insurance benefits, low interest rates and weekly payment policies of Project Dungganon, Virginia became a member in 1999. With the initial loan amount of P3,000, she used the money as an additional capital to her growing food look as enticing as possible while establishing relationships with her customers.

Virginia would prepare a simple menu where viands were priced low yet delicious to the palate. Passersby and passengers from other towns would drop by to have a quick lunch before moving on to their next stop. Virginia’s carinderia was slowly forming a reputation of serving good food at a very reasonable price. However, to Marcelito’s belief, it was Virginia’s personalized service that made customers come back for a repeat purchase of her food business.

Consequently, as loans started rolling in, Virginia found herself constructing a modest building situated at the roadside in a 150 square meter lot that is owned by her mother-in-law for her carinderia and sari sari store. The bold move to construct a building gave Virginia the belief that if she can work and improve her business through this expansion, then she can better serve the customers while gaining more profit at the same time. It is also in this time same building that she extended a portion of the lot for her family and built their home in 2006.

The P75,000 worth of stocks in her sari sari store include rice, poultry, swine feeds and other grocery items. The store can gross P40,000 a week. Her eatery, on the other hand, fetches a gross sale of P21,000. She also sells E-load to mobile phone subscribers. From the money that she earns, she has acquired a number of household appliances and business assets like a freezer, refrigerator, television set, STX Yamaha motorcycle and others. The couple recently purchased a 300 square meter lot near the seashore where they plan to develop a resort.

Securing a permit from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), Myrna and Marcelito started operating a lumber business. A chain saw was acquired for cutting the timber and coco lumber into desired sizes. These logs are then purchased by nearby suppliers and after chopping the wood into different sizes, the pieces are delivered into lumberyards at Tuburan.

She maintains two helpers for her carinderia, another two helpers for her lumber business and has three nephews who are helping her out in feeding and tending to the pigs in her backyard. Even with the help that she gets from them, Virginia also makes sure that her children help out in the businesses after school or during school breaks by manning the sari sari store, cooking the viands and tending to other business matters. In this way, she is able to teach them values on work and discipline. Also, she is able to watch over them as they do school work when there aren’t too many customers.

Believing that dreams do come true, Virginia hopes she can expand her rice wholesaling business by opening a stall at the town proper. She also wants to buy a truck that can help in delivering the lumber to her clients. However, Virginia’s smile is even more noticeable when she mentions the resort that she and her husband would like to open someday.

With a current loan of P100,000, Virginia never had any remiss with her weekly repayment. She is also bent on staying for quite a long time with Project Dungganon, the only microfinance company she has ever dealt with and where she has benefited from greatly. Virginia’s apparent business acumen has brought progress into their lives and the lives of her workers.

One would think that with the number of businesses, she still finds herself waking up at four in the morning, fixing and preparing papers and materials that will be needed for the stores and the customers. Being a very much hands-on owner, her minimal dependence on the workers shows that she is still running the whole operation.

“It is very important that you are hardworking, disciplined and have good relationship with your customers. I believe that one of the reasons why my customers keep coming back to my stores is that I don’t mark up the price of my goods commercially. I feel that with a small gain but with more customers patronizing your products, you will hit your profit and the goal you want for the day. I know that I exist because of other people – my customers.”