Before doing an interview with her, Marilou Dulnuan happily heeded our request to have first our video documentation on one of her cassava-based recipes. Her daughter, Charity Joy happily assisted her the entire time. The recipe they shared was their upgraded version of polvoron. After the video shoot and a taste of the final product- we now understood why she called it ‘upgraded polvoron’ – the taste of cassava flour is dominant making the polvoron tastier.
After hours of doing the video shoot, we sat and Marilou started to recall her experiences in relation to her cassava business and advocacy. She took with her a notebook where she writes her trainings attended, recipes, experiments, and activities being done in relation to her business and some important details of her life. This shows that record keeping is an integral part of her business. Supposedly, the story will mostly dwell on her cassava-related activities but as the story goes deeper, she shared the other sides of her life, which she did not mind at all.
“Adalen yu nga taga-ATI ta dakayu ti ag pa training” (ATI should learn my recipe so that you will be the one to train), Marilou said to us referring to her cassava recipes. It is seldomly heard from a person who innovates products and willingly allow others to share and utilize her innovations-without any reservations.
Marilou and OMAg-Sablan forged a strong partnership together. As their cooperator, the partnership goes a long way and brought awards and recognition to LGU Sablan and the Province of Benguet as well. Marilou is a partner in extending information and technologies on cassava and corn processing. In accepting her role as a partner of OMAG Sablan and other agencies in promoting corn and cassava, she knows it will not be an easy journey to put these crops into a higher level. Just like any endeavor, challenges became a part of her life, and to her cassava recipes- it took passion and time- but it pays to have those experiences, she says.
Traditionally, cassava is commonly or traditionally boiled and then served as it is. Usually, it is served with boiled camote and coffee. For other variation, boiled cassava is added with sugar and grated coconut and then pounded until becomes sticky. They called this recipe as ‘lubi-lubi’. Another traditional recipe is the ‘pichi-pichi’. Here, grated cassava added with sugar are steamed, then coated with grated coconut when cooked.
For Marilou, she wanted to introduce new recipes of cassava in their local market. She knows that this would be a great challenge for her since introducing new recipes will take time to be recognized and accepted. She started it with cassava cake and cassava polvoron.
As a marketing strategy, she offered ‘free tasting’ of her products and got comments and suggestions on how to further improve it. Majority of the feedback she got was ‘mayat’ (good). However, she wanted a more specific feedbacks other that “mayat”. She asked for comments as to the products’ saltiness and sweetness.
She persisted on getting honest answers because she truly wanted to improve the taste for it be appreciated, locally.
She did not deny however that she received negative comments but still she took those as constructive remarks for her improvement. Her upgraded polvoron version, as she says, is a result of innovations based from the suggestions of others.
It took years of dedication, passion, and humility for the cassava-based products to be appreciated and gained market.
Now, her products are being sought especially to be catered for special occasions.
Sharing avenues
Marilou is grateful and humbled by the opportunities provided her by various agencies like the OMAg Sablan, OPAg Benguet, DA-RFO and ATI-CAR. She keeps acknowledging that the trainings, experiential learnings, field tours, cooking contests, trade fairs, techno-demos are avenues for her to learn and to share. As such, she is making sure that her fellow cassava producers are given the opportunity avenue to learn and share. Whenever possible, she invites other members to join her during her invitations to trainings and experiential learning activities.
Being a partner in technology generation, she also shares a portion of her farm to serve as technology demonstration area. With the various field trials being done in the demo farm, Marilou attested that cassava is best intercropped with camote. Further, she said that as a practice, grated cassava can be stored in a freezer for a year and still can be cooked- which, she usually does to make sure that cassava is available all year round especially at times when cassava production is low.
Learning years.
Marilou and her family is proud to say that their business is a fruit of her family’s love and labor. She recalls those days and nights with her husband and three children grating manually the cassava as there was no equipment that time. It became their bonding activity as a family.
From manual operation, they are now using equipment that make the process easier. Right now, she already has an oven, mixer, cooking utensils like mixing bowls, and trays which she slowly acquired as her prizes in joining cooking contest. Also, through her able leadership as president of their organization, the DA RFO provided them with processing equipment like cassava grater, granulator, chipper and pulverizer. The OMAg Sablan likewise provided a presser. With these support at hand, members were able to increase and sustain their cassava production of a ready market as raw materials for cassava processors.
Marilou, an entrepreneur as well, manages their family-owned eatery at Sablan where she also serves other cassava-based recipes. Presently, her second child willingly took the responsibility to manage the eatery where together, they also serve varieties of cassava recipes and explore other crops to process. Charlene, her first child and a registered nutritionist-dietician, helps in providing nutritional value to the recipes.
Over time, Marilou still enjoys doing cooking demonstration in various activities-to include ATI-facilitated events. As she said, she was given the opportunity to learn and grow which she wants others to experience too. She learned a lot and experimented on different recipes, received awards in her field, and gained the trust of others. One thing remains in her- the eagerness to learn more so that she can give more to others.
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