An oyster that bears fruit

JardenVille Gracious Mushrooms is a blessing born of perseverance and grit, whose proprietor is as gracious as the name itself, the mushroom queen of Brgy. Luhib, Lake Sebu, Mrs. Criselda Jardenico.

Fondly called Te Cris by all who know her, this loving wife and hardworking mother of two, is an Agrarian Reform Beneficiary of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) from the Land of the Dreamweavers, South Cotabato province. She is also the proud owner of an oyster mushroom cultivation and production business. 

Her business, which started in 2016, optimizes farming and production of oyster mushrooms, aptly named for its resemblance in shape to the mollusk delicacy.

The scent of various mushroom-based food products permeates the air and entices the community to sample and buy her own spin on classic merienda favorites: mushroom pizza, bread sticks, lumpia, siomai and the bestseller, empanada de Jardenico.

“I hoped to have an additional income for our cooperative, Highland Agricultural Credit Cooperative, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to attend a mushroom cultivation seminar provided to our organization by the DAR,” Te Cris said.

“This, coupled with the Farm Business School Program from the DAR which aims to bring the school to the farmers, I was optimistic that I can apply the knowledge gained from the program and turn it into a profitable business,” she added.

Armed with great resolve and positive outlook, she and her fellow coop members ventured into cultivating these edible fungi. They hoped to increase the income of their cooperative.

“I was the cooperative manager at the time and we were optimistic that the endeavor will be fruitful. A portion of my 2.9-hectare, DAR-awarded lot was converted into an incubation facility. It included a dark room to house the mushroom fruiting bags, with substrate consisting of wood shavings and rice hulls,” Te Cris said.

But like so many enterprises before them, fate intervened and crushed their hopes into mush. The mushroom spawns did not thrive despite the work and sweat they invested. The venture was a disappointment.

Morale was at its lowest. The incident triggered the decision of the cooperative to discontinue their mushroom cultivation and move on to the production of higher value crops like bell pepper and ginger.

Te Cris was unsure of her next action. With a prayer of devotion to the heavens and the unending support of her family, she decided to push through with the business on her own.

“I started with a capital of P50,000 and 314 mushroom fruiting bags, and in only 3 months I began selling oyster mushrooms. Before long, many customers from nearby areas started to hear about my business. My family and I became so busy that to supply the demand of the customers, my husband had to stop farming in our rice field and focused instead in helping prepare the substrates. Meanwhile my children helped with the ingredients needed for my recipes,” Te Cris said.

“We sold fruiting bags for P35 each and was ecstatic with how the business was prospering. We sold over 10,000 fruiting bags since then. Customers from cities like Panabo, Davao, General Santos and Koronadal flocked our store to order and they were also keen on trying our mushroom-based food products,” she added.

Seeing how far her business has come filled Te Cris with a sense of accomplishment.

JardenVille Gracious Mushrooms now earns about P60,000 per month just with their mushroom food products alone. They make another P15,000 per month in fruiting bags.

“I encourage my fellow ARBs to try oyster mushroom cultivation and production as there is such a high demand for it but not enough suppliers,” Te Cris said.

“DAR spurred my fervor to venture into mushroom cultivation and production. The livelihood trainings gave me knowledge on the steps to take to make my business grow, most especially on keeping record of my income and expenses and how best to use my time productively,” she added.

Like a lone sailboat breaking through a storm, Te Cris battled the crashing waves of despair, criticism and failure, and forged on to become Lake Sebu’s Queen of Mushrooms.

She is a testament that whatever fate has designed to weave on the tapestry of life, we can always undo the threads and master our own destinies.

“I am really thankful to the government especially DAR for giving me the necessary knowledge in setting up my own enterprise. We still have a long way to go before our tindahan can be considered a big-time business, but we’ll take on any challenge presented our way, one wave at a time,” Te Cris said. (By Kathleen D. Sespeñe – Pagayon)

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