Carving unbending contours

In the town of Baler, Pampanga, life can get tougher than usual. It takes someone made of sturdier stuff to build dreams out of raw materials and equip oneself with artistry to achieve a more comfortable life.

For Maricel Quiap, furniture making is not only her bread and butter, but it also symbolizes how she managed to overcome the many struggles she faced to reach where she is now. Backed up by faith, hard work, perseverance and the constant support of her husband Bernardo, Quiap successfully managed a total life change.

During the bad times, Maricel and her husband would go around selling bread and fish for sustenance. They would sleep on cartons lent by neighbors that were laid out on the clay flooring of their modest home.

When their meager earnings weren’t enough, Bernardo’s father decided to give the couple a machine called a “tistisan” so they could start a wood-cutting business to service the needs of their community, from which the couple earned P3,000 a month. With their initial success, the couple gradually acquired more equipment that allowed them to venture into furniture making.

With the help of Alalay Sa Kaunlaran Inc., they were able to finance their business venture. In August 2007, the couple was chosen as the best client among ASKI’s 45,000 clients during the organization’s 20th anniversary celebration. To date, Maricel and her husband continue to manufacture and supply home furniture, doors, doorjambs, and window jambs to the homeowners of Baler and nearby towns. Their products are made of hardwood supplied by lumber producers licensed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The couple employs four regular workers and 15 contractual workers, and have 12 units of small machinery and tools for.

“It’s never too late to make something out of your lives,” Quiap said. “Times will always be hard but your determination will still make a whole lot of difference.”

For her inspiring entrepreneurial venture, Maricel Quiap will be conferred the Masikap Award (Luzon category) for this year’s Citi Microentrepreneur of the Year (MOTY) Awards today at the BSP Galleria, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, by Citi Country Head Sanjiv Vohra, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco and Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship Jose Concepcion III.

The Masikap Award is given to microentrepreneurs that have shown exemplary persistence to develop their businesses and have managed to overcome major obstacles to continue becoming instruments for growth and development in their provinces.

In partnership with the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Go Negosyo advocacy of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship, the 2007 MOTY Awards is a project of Citigroup Inc., one of the world’s largest financial service organizations. The program’s pilot run was conducted in 2002, during the celebration of Citi’s centennial in the Philippines. The awards aim to elevate awareness of and provide support for microfinance by recognizing outstanding microentrepreneurs.