Wednesday, October 03, 2007 From fine dining to 'lutong-bahay' By Gerlyn Regalado
REBECCA Sabio used to sell snacks and vegetables in their area at Barangay Mansablay, Isabela. But poverty pushed her to widen her market by coming to Bacolod and vending organic food like banana to employees of the Provincial Capitol.
A member of the Isabela MGM Multi-purpose Cooperative, Rebecca says it never entered her mind that she could one day start her small food business at the Organic Market.
This is with the common thought that people who love to eat would crave food offered in fine dining hotels and restaurants, if not in fast-food chains.
Somehow, this has changed for those who have discovered the Organic Market kitchenette in front of the Capitol Building in Gatuslao Street that offers home cooking using healthy organic food products direct from the farms.
Following the success of the Negros Island Organic Festival in July 2006 as organized by the Provincial Government, the Organic Market served as a display area for the organic products of Negros producers.
It was put up to help producers, mostly members of non-government and peoples organizations, in marketing their food produce from the farms. As people grew more aware of the health benefits of going organic, producers put up the eatery with employees of the Provincial Capitol as target clients.
Edna Garde of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist says that amid the many health concerns people face nowadays, they expected that the public would go for healthy foods. Thus, it was no surprise when the eatery at the Organic Market became popular in no time, with customers coming to try native delicacies and lutong bahay like laswa, tinolang manok, and vegetables and fruits.
Aside from Capitol employees, workers at the nearby Hall of Justice and other offices as well as private employees flock to the Organic Market during lunchtime, preferring to have a healthy lunch at very affordable prices rather than having the usual meals from fast-food chains, Garde added.
Even early morning joggers at the Capitol lagoon find their way to the Organic Market to have coffee and a breakfast of rice cake (ibus).
Like Rebecca, this has surely opened doors for business opportunities to farmers from Don Salvador Benedicto, Cauayan, Isabela, Hinigaran, Murcia, San Carlos City and other municipalities.
Marcelina Alipis, founder of the Provincial Advocates for Sustainable Agriculture and Development (PASAD) that also offers food at the Organic Market, reveals that they sometimes run out of food because of many customers.
She said they do not use vetsin (Monosodium glutamate) and other harmful ingredients in preparing their food.
After her retirement in 1995 from the Department of Agriculture, Alipis went on to promote organic farming and set up PASAD in Murcia. A learning center for sustainable agriculture has also been established.
Other organizations selling organic products at the Organic Market are AID Foundation, Negros Center for People Empowerment and Rural Development (NCPERD), Mu-ad Foundation, BIND, and the private organization called Green Negros. They are being assisted by the Negros Island Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development.
Rebecca said she is very thankful to Governor Joseph Maraqon and the Provincial Government for the opportunity to have a stable source of income. Now with more and more people coming to her kitchenette, she is hopeful that she can properly feed her four children and give them a brighter future.
