Glenda Loteriña, a 57-year-old resident of Albay, suffers from polycystic kidney disease, a disorder that runs in her family. 

Her restricted diet led her to discover mushrooms as a healthy food alternative.

Coming from a family of farmers, Loteriña decided to grow mushrooms initially for her personal consumption. 

She bought rooting bags in bulk from an online store. However, not even one mushroom grew.

Realizing that she just got scammed, she sought the help of a mushroom grower, who referred her to the Department of Agriculture and the Albay Provincial Agriculture Office (APAO).

“They were the first to assist me in growing mushrooms, and I was able to produce more,” Loteriña said at the Talakayan sa PIA Albay radio program.

“I was scammed but it was a lesson learned. From that, I learned to make my protein bags. It's better because I started earning from it. I also help our environment since it can be made from recycled materials,” she said.

Loteriña buys rice straws and coconut coir which she uses as raw materials for mushroom cultivation.

Equipped with her new learnings as a government program beneficiary, the simple hobby of growing mushrooms became a source of added income.  She posted it and sold it through her Facebook account.

To her surprise, personnel from the Department of Trade and Industry called and offered to help her further develop and market her product.

“That’s when I started to make by-products. At first, it was not pleasant to taste but the DTI helped me in the packaging and manufacturing process,” she said.       

“I struggled with talking and explaining in front of many people. The training I underwent boosted my confidence so I eventually learned how to deal with people,” she added.

From P50,000 starting capital in growing and selling fresh mushrooms, Loterina’s J.WHO? Mushroom Farm expanded with new products. 

They now have mushroom ice cream, crispy chips, achara, siomai and lumpia with different tastes and flavors.

Her business was named after a favorite DOTA character of her late son, Paul Julius.

Aside from fresh mushrooms, Glenda Loteriña also sells mushroom ice cream and chips with varied flavors

Booming business

“As a beneficiary of DTI’s Kapatid Mentor Me program, we were trained on financial literacy, simple bookkeeping and food awareness. They teach us the food that is currently trending and will be in demand in the next few years,” she said.

Her mushroom products are now offered for rebranding and reselling. She also markets her products at Kadiwa ng Pangulo stores.

“Some buyers just send us the layout and we print them,” she said. With the innovations and creativity in her products, Loterina has been a recipient of awards and grants.

Last year, she received equipment worth P100,000 from the Department of Science and Technology to support innovative women entrepreneurs. She was also hailed by the Simbag sa Pag-Asenso microfinance NGO as the best entrepreneur for two consecutive years.

Her advice to budding entrepreneurs is that success takes time to grow. Thus, they need to love what they do and learn from failures while patiently waiting for profits to come in.

“Kung papasok ka sa negosyo, kailangan yung alam mo saka gusto mo talaga. Kung napipilitan ka lang, lagi kang mapapagod,” she said.

(If you will venture into business, it must be something that you know and like. If you’re just forced to do it, you’ll just get tired.)“Wag mong iisiping kikita agad kasi madidismaya ka. Ako po kahit matanda na at may sakit, pero dahil gusto ko yung ginagawa ko nagtatagumpay ako,” she added.

(Don’t expect that you will earn fast because you will be disappointed. I am already old and sick but since I like what I’m doing, I am becoming successful.) (PIA5/Albay)