Jewel Sena, a 35-year old mother from Mexico, Pampanga was working as an Accounting agent in Manila for more than a decade before she finally decided to resign from her company. It was not an easy decision because she was already earning a good salary at that time. It was apparent though that she already need to spend more time with her growing children. Moreover, she was already not so happy with work, and everyday travel to and from work was already becoming difficult.
As a full time housewife, she had free time. At home, she prepared treats for her children, treats that she grew up with— ice candy. She said that it was her favorite back in her childhood days. For her children, she prepared delicious and zero preservative ice candy treats using ingredients such as buko, monggo and pandan. Soon, she was selling to neighbors and not long after, to schools.
From an initial capital of Php 500, she now earns an average net income of P30,000 a month. She now has 10 on-call workers in her business, mostly housewives. Due to the increased demand, she asked her husband to stop working and instead help with the growing business.
Jiji’s Ice Candy was registered though the Negosyo Center-Mexico. It has secured all the necessary documents needed for their business. Jiji also applied for the BMBE Certificate of Authority. She now participates in the seminars and trade fairs offered by the Department of Trade and Industry-Pampanga. In addition, Negosyo Center-Mexico was able to link her with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). This linkage resulted to improved packaging and labeling through DOST’s technical assistance. The packaging assistance provided to her includes Nutrition facts, a requirement for her to be able to sell products to schools and other stores. She is now accredited by the DepEd Pampanga and DepEd City of San Fernando. She now supplies seven (7) schools in Mexico and the nearby City of San Fernando. She is currently applying for FDA Certification, also with the Negosyo Center-Mexico’s assistance.
At present, she is upgrading her knowledge by joining the ongoing Kapatid Mentor ME Program in Pampanga, so she could expand her business. She dreams of helping housewives like her have a steady flow of income, while being able to spend time with their children. She plans to distribute her products all over Pampanga and nearby provinces through resellers.
Although her business is just starting, it is slowly and surely becoming a sweet success for Jiji Sena. What started as treats for her children is now becoming a sweet source of income for her family and her fellow housewives who work with her.