A new and healthier alternative to buko (coconut) as a salad ingredient has arrived. And all thanks to this former teacher.
There’s a businessman in all of us. This is what Anna Bel Salino, 47, a local of Agusan del Norte, goes by when asked about how her own venture aptly called “Anna Bel & Jefil Food Products” came about—something so small she merely called it a ‘project’ when she started it in 2004 while she was fulfilling her teaching responsibilities in a native school. Well, at least for her case, a businesswoman (rather than businessman) is more like it.
Her products include: Seaweed strips (that are available in macapuno and buko pandan flavors), Nata de seaweeds (that come in strawberry and pandan flavors), and Seaweed marmalade (that are made in four flavors namely orange, strawberry, pineapple and mango).
During the 5th Agriculture and Fisheries Technology Forum Product Exhibition, an event sponsored by the Department of Agriculture—Bureau of Agricultural Research, the seaweed strips were being sold at Php100 per 1 kilo pack and the nata de seaweeds at Php35 per 250 grams. However, the prices, according to her, had to jacked up a little since the products were transported by plane from Agusan del Norte where she and her husband do production. Back in Mindanao, the seaweed strips are as cheap as Php50 and the nata at just Php20.