BPI Foundation empowers micro-entrepreneurs

Lino Dalay did not have a clear business plan when he started setting up shop almost a decade ago on a narrow street in Paete, Laguna, the country’s wood carving capital.

What he had, however, were the stuff and the skills to sell: tons of used movie props and sets accumulated from over 18 years as a production designer for big local films like Lola Basyang, Stupid Cupid, and Halimaw sa Banga, and even the Tom Cruise-starrer Born on the Fourth of July that had location shoots in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

Every wall, nook and cranny of his little heritage shop is filled with bittersweet memories of things old, forgotten or dying, like the local film industry. “At the height of the industry’s popularity, I used to design for four to five films a year. Now, I’ll be lucky to have one film assignment. So I thought of turning this into a business,” he said.

Despite the uncertainty of turning his movie props into a viable venture, Lino pursued his passion and set up Ang Buhay at Hugis sa Paete at No. 5 J.V. Quesada Street in Paete. Upon invitation by the Department of Trade and Industry’s regional office, he attended the “Show Me, Teach Me, SME” program conducted by BPI Foundation.

It was in the seminar where he learned the basics of financial management , how to properly price his products and services, and keep his overhead costs down. “I used to spend a lot on raw material because I consider this as a high level of visual art. Now I have a clearer view of my pricing strategy,” he said.

When his shop first opened, the towering statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the colorful variety of local fruits strewn on the floor – all made of paper maché – initially drew both curious passersby and local customers. His 77-year-old mother, Marta Madridejos, who helps make the fruits, found this quite amusing. “They would even haggle for a tumpok and pinch the bananas and rambutans until they’d realize they were not real fruits,” she said.

Name it, Lino has it – from the masks for the Turumba Festival in Pakil, Laguna, the Moriones Festival in Marinduque to those worn in the mardi gras in Venice, Italy; from the traditional bakya (clogs) made by his ancestors in Paete, to the colorful fruits made out of paper maché displayed in a Philippine festival at the Louvre Museum in Paris in the 1990s.

After more than five years, his shop is slowly being discovered by caterers, festival organizers and companies in need of set designs for product launches and corporate events. Lino has even designed and supplied the props for an 18-wheeler festival float that took two months to make and graced the cover of a popular magazine. His wares are still considered novelty items and have yet to take off but Lino said he has a higher purpose for staying in the business.

“I want to preserve this to pay tribute to my ancestors in Paete so future generations would know the richness of their heritage,” said Lino. He is currently doing an indie film documenting the life of an artisan in Paete.