‘Crab mentality’ and OSH are ingredients to success” – Aling Baby
From being a simple housewife struggling to make ends meet for her family, Teodora Aquino, commonly known as “Aling Baby”, has been able to send all her kids to school and is now busy with leading fellow women entrepreneurs in expanding their business. According to her, all these are made possible by four things: “Nagpapasalamat ako sa Diyos, tulong mula sa mga ahensiya ng gobyerno, (DOLE, OSHC, DOST, and PCW), OSH at sa aming ‘crab mentality’,” said Aling Baby. “Dahil dito, napagtapos ko na ang 2 kong anak sa kolehiyo.”
Contrary to the Filipino notion of crab mentality being an attitude that hinders success, Aling Baby and the rest of the Cagbunga Crab paste Producers’ Association in Gainza (CCPAG)’s crab mentality pertains to the continuous development of their crab paste enterprise.
As part of the Gender Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women) Project the OSHC conducted an audit and assessment in 2008 to find out the hazards and risks in the crab paste making and four other industries. The information gathered was then used to develop information materials (comics, posters, fans and training flip charts) and a full OSH training program tailor-fitted for this sector. Aling Baby and her fellow crab paste makes were able to attend this training and avail of the personal protective equipment such as hairnets, aprons, masks and safety boots which were later distributed.
With the support from the GREAT Women Project implemented by the Philippine Commission on Women, and the LGU, and knowledge from the OSH trainings and information materials, the formerly home-based crab paste manufacturers were able to put up a common service facility which complied with OSH Standards in terms of housekeeping, illumination and ventilation. With assistance from the Department of Science and Technology, they were also able to purchase equipment which operated with far lower noise levels than the manual “dukdukan” they used before to grind the crabs. The dudkdukan produced a lot of noise, registering above 90dcb, which can induce hearing loss.
As president of the CCPAG, Aling Baby proudly announced that they have already passed the standards of the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines and that they now have a lot of customers including restaurants in Makati, as well as new products.
“Bukod sa mga bumibili dito sa lugar naming, kumukuha din sa amin ang mga restaurant tulad ng Biggs
Diner tsaka sila Ma’am Leni Robredo. Nag papadala din kami sa Echo Store sa Makati. Mabili sa amin itong Hot n’ Spicy Flavor tsaka Lemon Grass flavor,” Aling Baby said.
The expanding range of their products now include coco jam with pili nuts, pickled vegetables (“atsara”) and ginger brew (“salabat”). They are also experimenting on crab paste with pineapple. Instead of throwing away the crabs’ shells, the CCPAG processes the scraps through a dryer and the end product is sold as animal feeds.
“Wala kaming basura, lahat napapakinabangan kaya nakakatulong kami sa kalikasan,” added Aling Baby.
END/DJ Romero
Any question on this release? Please contact Ma. Teresita S. Cucueco, MD, CESO III, Executive director, Occupational Safety and Health Center, North Avenue corner Agham Road, Diliman, Quezon City with telephone numbers 929-6036 to 39 and e-mail address: oshc_dole@yahoo.com
