CEBU, Philippines - While the rest of us make plans on what to do during Holy Week, a 71-year-old mother in Barangay Tangil, Dumanjug, Cebu starts to prepare the materials for her candle-making business as she sees it as good investment for the season.
“Candles remain a high-selling item that almost everyone buys and uses. It is one of the consumable products that costumers keep buying not just for Holy Week. Candle making is a great way to bring extra cash in the family,†said Cresenciana Jamero.
A nanay-client of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Micro-finance Dumanjug Branch for five years now, she started making candles after attending a demonstration by RAFI Microfinance for nanay-clients from Alcantara town last October.
Her primary business is actually a sari-sari store. But a week after the whole-day session with RAFI, she went to Cebu City to buy the needed items for the business. She started with a P1,000 capital, a low start-up cost for a business venture. It was in time for the All Souls Day celebration in November.
For this week, she already gathered all her pot holders, molds, wax, and wicks to prepare to make candles in a small space in her house.
“My candles are different from the others because I use hardener, which is a thickening agent that makes my candles last long,†she said. Prices range from one peso to five pesos each.
Jamero said there is a wide array of choices on what kind of candles to make. They can either be free standing or in containers and can even come in different scents and colors, depending on the maker’s preference. She favors the ordinary ones, though, for they are her best-sellers.
Working from home, she requires just a little space to set up the business, which she admitted can be messy sometimes.
She said that to get started, one should set the wick pins into each of the candle molds. The wax should then be melted in a pot until it is completely liquid. Stirring helps speed up the process.
“Never leave your wax. You should be extra careful because it easily thickens,†Jamero said. Depending on the volume, it only takes 30 to 45 minutes to melt the wax.
“Making handmade candles requires practice to achieve the best candles. Master the methods that work best for you. It needs patience and attention to the process to ensure the quality,†she added.
For Holy Week, Jamero is positive she could earn big, saying regular customers, including sari-sari store owners and neighbors, are already starting to place their orders.
“After Holy Week, I am planning to release a bigger amount of capital. This is another business expansion aside from my sari-sari store,†she said.
With only one child who already has a job, Jamero makes candles only for leisure. But she also sends her nieces and nephews to school, giving back to others who need financial assistance for the economic independence she achieved.
“If you want to venture to another business opportunity, use your creativity and business-mindedness to get started,†she advised. Another nanay likes to follow suit.
For Josie Tan, a nanay-client from the same branch, she is just waiting for the right time to finally pursue her plans for a candle-making business.
“As of now, I’m researching the methods on how to do it. Also, I’m looking at the market of the product. Establishing a business needs proper planning,†the 53-year-old ukay-ukay owner said.
She said that candle making as a business venture has promise for good profit.
So before Holy Week ends, all nanays are encouraged to put their entrepreneurial spirit and creativity to work by making homemade candles. RAFI Micro-finance is more than willing to help.
At present, around 16,000 nanays from the RAFI Micro-finance Cebu, Leyte and Bohol branches are availing services that include loans, savings and insurance. For more information about RAFI Micro-finance, please contact 418-7234 loc. 707 and look for Val Gatchalian. (By Chrisley Ann Hinayas/Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.) /JOB (FREEMAN)