Mimosa Cortez: Crab Picker With a Heart

Mimosa Cortez in her crab picking plant.  Nearly 40 neighbors work for her here.

Gentle tapping and cracking sounds fill a small crab picking plant in Manapla, Negros Occidental, as 40 pairs of hands skillfully separate the meat from crab shells and claws. At about six this morning, the crabs, caught by fishermen working all night, arrived alive and fresh from the sea, their claws and swimming legs immobilized with rubber bands. They were steamed for about half an hour and now their meat is being carefully picked out of the shells and packed in ice boxes. 

It takes patience, nimble fingers and good eyesight 
to be a crab picker because no one appreciates 
having bits of shell in their crab cake, 
salad or soup. Crab meat from here 
eventually appears on dinner plates in the US.  

Later in the day, a quality control person from an exporting company in Bacolod will inspect the meat. If it passes his scrutiny, the crab meat will be transported to a facility in Bacolod where it will be pasteurized and canned. Eventually, it will appear in dishes such as chili crab, crab and corn soup, and linguine crab in homes and fancy restaurants in the United States. 

Quietly overseeing the crab picking operations is Mimosa Cortez, 41. She used to work as a picker for a crab exporting company beginning at age 16. When the company closed when she was 35, she wisely used part of her separation pay to buy herself a fishing boat. Shortly afterward, she learned of and joined the CCT Credit Cooperative. She has since received nine CCT loans, most of which she used to buy more boats of various sizes. 

Mimosa now owns a fleet of 11 bangkas (motorized boats with outriggers) and eight barotos (paddle boats about five feet long). The bangkas are used by fishermen who go far out into the Guimaras Strait and the Visayan Sea in teams of five to catch fish, crabs and shrimp. The barotos  are used by fisherman who paddle out a short distance of about 20 minutes from shore to catch squid. 

Mimosa began her crab-picking business in 2015 after realizing that she could open and manage her own crab picking station rather than sell her crab catch. She has created jobs for about 80 individuals in her community, half in the crab picking plant and half on boats.  

Mimosa's crab meat is inspected by a quality

control worker from an exporting company

in Bacolod. If he gives it a thumbs up, the meat

 is transported to the company's plant where it is

pasteurized and canned for export.  

One of Mimosa's dreams is to get to travel to Manila, a faraway city she's only seen on TV. But she has a far greater dream: to see her nephews and nieces all earn college degrees. Mimosa sends three nieces from her husband’s side of the family and a member of her church to college. One of the nieces is a senior studying office administration, another is a sophomore studying to be a teacher, and the third is a freshman studying nutrition. The church mate is also studying to become a teacher.

In an unwritten agreement the students are expected to earn their degrees and not get married until after they have found jobs and helped their own families substantially.  

At the beginning of each school year, Mimosa likewise provides school material  for 21 younger nephews and nieces on her side of the family. Just this June 2017, she spent P30,000 to buy them new school bags, uniforms, shoes and socks, notebooks, pencils and crayons.

She also gives loans at the beginning of the school year to the men and women who work for her. This allows them to buy back-to-school supplies for their children as well. They pay her back in small amounts.  

"I only studied until sixth grade," reveals Mimosa who has two young children of her own. "I pray that -- because they have this chance I never had  -- all of them finish college."

Ronie Francisco: Mamang Sorbetero

With faith in God, hard work and assistance from CCT, Ronie Francisco now owns a small ice cream factory. He has
created 25 jobs for his community.

School children gather around  for an ice cream cone.  

If you love durian then you definitely have to try Tatay Ronie Francisco's durian-cheese ice cream. It's his Number 2 bestselling flavor, after mango-cheese. Both flavors are made with fresh fruit. Not a durian fan? Well, he makes regular flavors too, like strawberry and mocha. 

From One Cart to 20 Carts in 12 Years. Tatay Ronie of General Santos City used to be your typical mamang sorbetero, selling ice cream someone else made.  Then he started his own ice cream business in 2005, making ice cream with a rented mixer and selling it himself from a rented cart. He learned how to make ice cream when he worked at a relative's ice cream factory back when he was a young man in the 1970s. 

He joined the CCT Credit Cooperative in 2006 and used his first loan of P4,000 to buy ice cream ingredients. 

With more assistance from CCT, the business began to grow. By 2007, he owned two carts, one of which he built himself. Beginning in 2008 he started to make ice cream with the use of a bigger mixer that he rented from a friend. Two years later, he bought the mixer. He bought a second mixer in 2012 , and a third mixer in 2014. With better production, he could afford to have more carts built. Today, his ice cream is sold all over GenSan from 20 carts. This means he has created jobs for 20 ice cream scoopers. He also employs four ice cream makers and a cleaning man.

One of four ice cream makers at the Joyce Dawn ice cream
factory. They work from 7 pm to 4 am.

Lettuce Ice Cream, Anyone? Tatay Ronie's brightly painted carts and his tinkling bell are enough to bring children running for his cold and creamy treats. But he doesn't just sell his ice cream from push carts. 

Ice cream scoopers remit payment to Tatay Ronie
at the end of the day.

He also accepts orders for special occasions celebrated by families, companies and schools. Aside from the flavors mentioned earlier, he also makes ube-cheese, buko-cheese, and avocado. And, he occasionally he makes ice cream in an odd flavor such as chayote or lettuce when requested by schools celebrating Nutrition Month.  

Four College Diplomas So Far. Being a mamang sorbetero has helped Tatay Ronie send all his children to school. 

Eldest son Harvey has a degree in education and currently works as a teacher in Thailand. Second son studied information technology and now manages his own computer shop. Ronie Mar, who studied electronics, currently helps out with the family business. 

Joyce Dawn (after whom the business is named) recently earned a degree in electronics engineering and is currently reviewing for the licensure exam. Joylen Grace is in grade 12 and has her heart set on becoming a doctor.  For sure, her father's durian ice cream will help make that dream come true.