<strong>Product</strong> Name: Rose Nelita Tableya (42pcs./pack) <strong>Product</strong> Name: Delia’s Pure Tableya (12pcs./pack) <strong>Product</strong> Name: Golden Pagoda Tableya (21pcs./pack) DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY VII <strong>Product</strong> <strong>Catalogue</strong> 2011 22
STAIRS Stairway To Success With the successive deaths <strong>of</strong> their mother and brothers, the Namuag family decided that the business that was to be set up after these tragic incidents should carry a blessed name. Thus the name, Santisima Trinidad Agro-Industrial Resource Supply (STAIRS). Santisima Trinidad means Holy Trinity. Out <strong>of</strong> the nine surviving children, from a family <strong>of</strong> 13, who could manage the business, Edgardo became the choice. After having worked for seven years abroad and two years in the Philippines, he embarked on a new career. From the salted fish trading started by their parents, the family ventured into fishing using small boats and later expanded using bigger boats and more efficient gears. Storage became a concern as the catch correspondingly grew. With the crisis in ice experienced in 1993, the family decided to operate an Ice Plant in 1994. The facility served the requirements not only <strong>of</strong> the people <strong>of</strong> Alburquerque, Bohol but the nearby municipalities where fishing is a major source <strong>of</strong> livelihood. However, in the late 90s, limitations in fishing areas as provided by law, affected the business. With a 22- hectare property that is naturally endowed with brackish water, the family decided to establish a fishpond. This was not a strange undertaking for Edgardo since he had the experience <strong>of</strong> managing a school fishpond when he was in Grade 3. Edgardo’s first encounter with <strong>DOST</strong> was in the late 2007 when their company availed <strong>of</strong> the technical assistance through the Consultancy for Agricultural <strong>Product</strong>ivity Enhancement Program (CAPE). 23 DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY VII <strong>Product</strong> <strong>Catalogue</strong> 2011 His meetings with a Consultant on Pro Biotics Technology led him to another <strong>DOST</strong> program. An application for <strong>SET</strong>-<strong>UP</strong> to establish a shrimp fry hatchery and laboratory facility to support and increase the production <strong>of</strong> prawn grow-out farm was submitted and approved. This was the result <strong>of</strong> the recommendation by the Consultant to ensure the quality <strong>of</strong> the shrimp fries. Through a project <strong>of</strong> <strong>DOST</strong> called <strong>SET</strong>-<strong>UP</strong>, technology upgrade was made possible. Pumps, portable tents, and a refractometer were purchased. Packaging was improved using plastic boxes with insulation and technical assistance provided on proper handling and operation With these developments, shrimp can now be stocked and a separate fry pond has been established. The refractometer is used in monitoring water quality and analysis <strong>of</strong> the end source, so death <strong>of</strong> prawn fries is negligible. As a result, the family harvests one ton <strong>of</strong> shrimps and bangus per month allowing them to supply the different markets in Bohol and the hotels in the city. The gains enjoyed by the family were cut short when just two days before Christmas in 2010, a tragic incident happened. High tide destroyed the dikes in the fishponds. Easily, 2,000 kilos <strong>of</strong> harvestable milkfish and prawns and an estimated 50,000 fries were washed out. All these could have been avoided with close monitoring <strong>of</strong> the tide and swift action. The event was reminiscent <strong>of</strong> the tragic deaths that happened in their family decades ago. The silence <strong>of</strong> Christmas, that year, was deafening. It could have been the death <strong>of</strong> a business. Despite the loss that they encountered, Edgardo maintains a positive disposition. Money can be recovered, but not lives lost . With the Santisima Trinidad guiding him in his business and with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, patience and hard work inculcated by his parents, Edgardo is back on his feet, perhaps, this time, with a vengeance to do much more. STAIRS Santisima Trinidad Ice Plant Eastern Poblacion, Alburquerque, Bohol Farm Site: Panas, Candijay, Bohol Mr. Edgardo Namuag Proprietor Tel No: (63)(38) 539 9025 Mobile: 0917 633 5832
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