The Filipino Entrepreneur

Tofu or tokwa made from soybeans has been a long time favorite of Filipinos which was introduced by the Chinese. This has became a part of the Filipino staple diet aside from rice, root crops like camote or sweet potatoes, monggo beans and others which I can’t remember. Tofu making is also a long time industry here. Below is a procedure on how to make tofu or tokwa at home. Very simple and only needs very basic utensils. But the only utensil that is a little hard to find and a little expensive is the cooking dial thermometer. I think you can substitute it with a glass candy / deep frying thermometer which is cheaper and easier to find.

Ingredients:
1 kg soybeans
110 grams food grade calcium sulfate (CaSO4)
5 L water

Read the rest of this entry »

I got a homemade soy milk recipe but this is more on the commercial side because the procedure also have a way of storing the milk for longer periods for you to sell it without affecting the quality. And with the addition of carrageenan to preserve the products’ quality (probably to emulsify the soy from water and to increase viscosity). I made a little research on carragenan. I thought is a chemical preservative but it was not. It came from a sea weed. It is a seaweed extract common in the Atlantic Ocean near Britain, Continental Europe and North America. You can buy the carragenan in chemical supplies store.

Raw Materials You Will Need:

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the biggest advantages of selling online is the minimal amount of start-up capital. Where you only have to invest on some decent PC or personal computer with an Internet connection, preferably a broadband connection because a dial-up connection is very slow and will hinder your work. But if you are just experimenting, I guess that will do. You can start selling goods worth a few thousand pesos like for instance garments, underwear or slippers on auction sites like eBay Philippines or social networking site like multiply.com. You can also sell on the international market but it seems not realistic because of the cost of shipping specially if the items cost less than a hundred pesos each. A more realistic approach is selling locally. As I’ve mentioned before, selling on auction sites and buy and sell sites have many advantages. The first thing is the market is already there and lots of traffic or visitors. Not only visitors but “targeted” visitors, meaning the visitors were already conditioned to buy because most visitors who visit auction sites like ebay are searching for things to buy.

Unlike setting up your own website where you have to promote it first just to have visitors. Like for example the social networking site multiply.com. You have to build network of friends. Although it’s hard at first, the result is rewarding if you have hundreds or even thousands of friends because you can sell easily to them. So aside from investing on a PC, you also need a camera and skills in writing your sales copy and some technical know-how on computers and Internet. Although this method of selling seems to be easy, there are some disadvantages, since you are literally selling a photograph or pictures, most buyers prefer that they can feel, touch and see the items you are selling before you can convince them to buy. Accepting payments is another thing. Who on earth will give money to a total stranger without the merchandise in your hand? Its a different story when you buy in a physical store where before you hand over your money, the item you bought is already in your hands. On the contrary, you can be convincing if you already built your reputation as a seller by having many feedback. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Locally, toddy is commonly called “tuba”. It is usually bottled and made into coconut wine, mixed with cinnamon bark to prevent fermentation which turns it into vinegar. Palm toddy is another kind of sap but not from coconut tree, it is from palm trees. Below are some technologies and procedures to convert the coconut sap into other value added products aside from wine.

Technology Description

Read the rest of this entry »

Today while watching kabuhayang swak na swak, they features Carica, the herbal supplement company in the Philippines selling dried goji berries and they also showed how to make goji berry juice. Is not that complicated to make one. Just boil the dried goji berries and strain. Then pour the juice in bottles, which I assume you have to sterilize first to prolong the life of the juice. The dried berries only cost 500 pesos per pack. I’m not sure how many grams per pack, just contact them for details.

Goji berries cost 2,500 pesos per bottle, which I think contains 1 liter of berry juice. So if you will make your own, it would definitely cost less. The dried berries were imported from Afghanistan which is very abundant to that country and people there ignore and are only stepping on them. Carica also sell goji berry juice and cost less than the goji berry juice in the market.

Read the rest of this entry »