THE GIFT (Jim Brickman)
Winter snow is falling down
Children laughing all around
Lights are turning on
like a fairy tale come true.
Sitting by the fire we made
You're the answer when i prayed
I would find someone
and baby I found you.
All I want is to hold you forever
All I need is you more every day
You saved my heart
from being broken apart
You gave your love away
and I'm thankful every day
for the gift.
Watching as you softly sleep
What I'd give if I could keep
Just this moment
if only time stood still.
But the colors fade away
And the years will make us grey
But baby in my eyes
You'll still be beautiful.
All I want is to hold you forever
All I need is you more every day
You saved my heart
from being broken apart
You gave your love away
And I'm thankful every day
for the gift.
(instrumental)
All I want is to hold you forever
All I need is you more every day
You saved my heart
from being broken apart
You gave your love away
I can't find the words to say
That I'm thankful every day
for the gift.
Beautiful song....
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Kultura ng Katamaran
by. Amado Macasaet
Habang dumarami ang tao sa bansang Pilipinas, lalong lumalaganap ang katamaran. Ang katuwiran ng mga tamad ay wala raw maibigay na trabaho ang gobyernong Arroyo.
Para sa akin, ito mismo ang dahilan kung bakit ang mga mahihirap ay dapat maging masipag at mabuhay sa sariling tiyaga. Kung hindi, malaking gutom, kamangmangan, at malubhang pagkakasakit ang aabutin nila.
Kasama ako sa sumisisi kay Pangulong Gloria Arroyo sa kawalan ng abilidad ni GMA na lumikha ng marami pang trabaho. Pero ang katotohanan ay sa isip natin nakasalalay ang ating buhay at kabuhayan sa Pangulo. Sa kanya tayo umaasa ng ikabubuhay. At kung di niya maibigay sa dumaraming Pilipino ang pangakong trabaho, sinisisi natin ang Pangulo sa ating kakulangan ng pagkain at kawalan ng perang pampagamot at pampaaral ng mga anak.
Hindi tama ang takbo ng ating pag-iisip. Maraming paraan para mabuhay ng walang kaugnayan sa Panguluhan.
Totoo na dumarami ang mga squatter sa Metro Manila at iba pang maunlad na probinsya at siyudad dahil wala silang makitang ikabubuhay sa probinsyang tinubuan.
Sumusugal sila sa Maynila sa pag-asa na makakita ng hanapbuhay. Di nila alam na mas mahirap mabuhay sa siyudad kung walang pinapasukan na may tiyak na kita. Kaya ang marami sa kanila sa ilalim ng tulay nakatira. Ang mga bata ay nagpapalimos. Marami sa babae ang nagbebenta ng laman. Ang mga lalaki naman ay nagtutulak ng droga, nagnanakaw at nagpapalimos din.
Ang mga tao sa aking barrio sa Lipa ang pinakamalaking halimbawa ng katamaran. Halos lahat sila ay may bahay at maliit na lupa na puwedeng taniman ng pagkain.
Maniniwala ba kayo na sa barrio na iyan ay walang nagtatanim ng gulay. Ang sitaw, kalabasa, pechay, at marami pang iba ay binibili sa mga nagtitinda sa barrio mismo.
Hindi maabot ng kanilang kaisipan na ang mga gulay na iyan ay tanim ng masisipag sa kabukiran tulad ng aking barrio.
Ibig sabihin, kung sila ay nagtatanim - di na lang para kumita kundi para huwag ng bumili ng gulayin - makakatipid sila sa gastos sa gulay.
Ayaw nilang magtanim. Ayaw nilang humawak ng itak. Ayaw nilang pawisan sa pagtatrabaho sa munti nilang lupa.
Ang masama rito ay lalong naging tamad ang mga nakatapos ng pag-aaral pero hindi naman makakita ng trabaho. Para bang nahihiya sila na magkaroon ng kalyo ang kanilang mga palad sa pagtatanim ng kahit ano sa bukid.
Bakit nga naman sila gagawa ng ganun? Tapos naman sila ng kolehiyo at may diploma.
Naghihirap na nga sila, kumukuha pa ng katulong. Maraming Bicolano sa aking barrio ang nagtitiyaga para mabuhay. Nag-aalaga sila ng baboy o manok na pag-aari ng iba.
Maliit nga ang suweldo, pero libre naman ang pagkain. Iyon lang malaking ginhawa na.
Malimit akong mangailangan ng ilang tao para ayusin ang aking mga tanim sa munti kong lupa. Mahirap maghanap ng tao na tutulong sa akin. Naliliitan sila sa kitang P250 isang araw, libre pagkain.
Malaki ang nagagastos sa cooking gas ng maraming bahay sa aking barrio. Higit pa sa P500 ang isang tangke.
Bakit sila gumagamit ng cooking gas at nag-aaksaya ng pera na halos ay di nila kitain? Dahil sila ay mga tamad. Katuwiran nila mahirap na raw maghanap ng kahoy na panggatong.
Tamad lang silay kaya ganun. Di ko maubos ang tuyong palapa ng niyog sa munti kong lupa. Ipinamimigay ko kanino man. Wala namang kumukuha dahil cooking gas nga ang ginagamit nila.
Lumalawak ang kultura ng katamaran. At sinisisi si GMA sa kanilang paghihirap. Ayaw nilang tulungan ang sarili. Saan ba tayo talaga patungo?
Habang dumarami ang tao sa bansang Pilipinas, lalong lumalaganap ang katamaran. Ang katuwiran ng mga tamad ay wala raw maibigay na trabaho ang gobyernong Arroyo.
Para sa akin, ito mismo ang dahilan kung bakit ang mga mahihirap ay dapat maging masipag at mabuhay sa sariling tiyaga. Kung hindi, malaking gutom, kamangmangan, at malubhang pagkakasakit ang aabutin nila.
Kasama ako sa sumisisi kay Pangulong Gloria Arroyo sa kawalan ng abilidad ni GMA na lumikha ng marami pang trabaho. Pero ang katotohanan ay sa isip natin nakasalalay ang ating buhay at kabuhayan sa Pangulo. Sa kanya tayo umaasa ng ikabubuhay. At kung di niya maibigay sa dumaraming Pilipino ang pangakong trabaho, sinisisi natin ang Pangulo sa ating kakulangan ng pagkain at kawalan ng perang pampagamot at pampaaral ng mga anak.
Hindi tama ang takbo ng ating pag-iisip. Maraming paraan para mabuhay ng walang kaugnayan sa Panguluhan.
Totoo na dumarami ang mga squatter sa Metro Manila at iba pang maunlad na probinsya at siyudad dahil wala silang makitang ikabubuhay sa probinsyang tinubuan.
Sumusugal sila sa Maynila sa pag-asa na makakita ng hanapbuhay. Di nila alam na mas mahirap mabuhay sa siyudad kung walang pinapasukan na may tiyak na kita. Kaya ang marami sa kanila sa ilalim ng tulay nakatira. Ang mga bata ay nagpapalimos. Marami sa babae ang nagbebenta ng laman. Ang mga lalaki naman ay nagtutulak ng droga, nagnanakaw at nagpapalimos din.
Ang mga tao sa aking barrio sa Lipa ang pinakamalaking halimbawa ng katamaran. Halos lahat sila ay may bahay at maliit na lupa na puwedeng taniman ng pagkain.
Maniniwala ba kayo na sa barrio na iyan ay walang nagtatanim ng gulay. Ang sitaw, kalabasa, pechay, at marami pang iba ay binibili sa mga nagtitinda sa barrio mismo.
Hindi maabot ng kanilang kaisipan na ang mga gulay na iyan ay tanim ng masisipag sa kabukiran tulad ng aking barrio.
Ibig sabihin, kung sila ay nagtatanim - di na lang para kumita kundi para huwag ng bumili ng gulayin - makakatipid sila sa gastos sa gulay.
Ayaw nilang magtanim. Ayaw nilang humawak ng itak. Ayaw nilang pawisan sa pagtatrabaho sa munti nilang lupa.
Ang masama rito ay lalong naging tamad ang mga nakatapos ng pag-aaral pero hindi naman makakita ng trabaho. Para bang nahihiya sila na magkaroon ng kalyo ang kanilang mga palad sa pagtatanim ng kahit ano sa bukid.
Bakit nga naman sila gagawa ng ganun? Tapos naman sila ng kolehiyo at may diploma.
Naghihirap na nga sila, kumukuha pa ng katulong. Maraming Bicolano sa aking barrio ang nagtitiyaga para mabuhay. Nag-aalaga sila ng baboy o manok na pag-aari ng iba.
Maliit nga ang suweldo, pero libre naman ang pagkain. Iyon lang malaking ginhawa na.
Malimit akong mangailangan ng ilang tao para ayusin ang aking mga tanim sa munti kong lupa. Mahirap maghanap ng tao na tutulong sa akin. Naliliitan sila sa kitang P250 isang araw, libre pagkain.
Malaki ang nagagastos sa cooking gas ng maraming bahay sa aking barrio. Higit pa sa P500 ang isang tangke.
Bakit sila gumagamit ng cooking gas at nag-aaksaya ng pera na halos ay di nila kitain? Dahil sila ay mga tamad. Katuwiran nila mahirap na raw maghanap ng kahoy na panggatong.
Tamad lang silay kaya ganun. Di ko maubos ang tuyong palapa ng niyog sa munti kong lupa. Ipinamimigay ko kanino man. Wala namang kumukuha dahil cooking gas nga ang ginagamit nila.
Lumalawak ang kultura ng katamaran. At sinisisi si GMA sa kanilang paghihirap. Ayaw nilang tulungan ang sarili. Saan ba tayo talaga patungo?
Monday, May 28, 2007
Graduation Day
Beach Boys
(Studio Version)
Time: 2:21 Erasmus Music BMI
Master #52706A Recorded 5/5/65
J Sherman/N. Sherman
There's a time a for joy
A time for tears
A time we'll treasure through the years
We'll remember always
Graduation day
At the senior prom
We danced 'til three
And there you gave your heart to me
We'll remember always
Graduation day
Though we leave in sorrow
All the joys we've known
We can face tomorrow
Knowing we'll never walk alone
When the ivy walls
Are far behind
No matter where our paths may wind
We'll remember always
Graduation day
We'll remember always
Graduation day
Never my love
You ask me if there'll come a time
when I grow tired of you;
never my love, never my love.
You wonder if this heart of mine
will lose its desire for you;
never my love,
never my love.
What makes you think love will end
when you know that my whole life
depends on you?
You say you fear I'll change my mind
I won't require you,
Never my love,
never my love.
How can you think love will end
when I've asked you to spend your
whole life with me?
(Studio Version)
Time: 2:21 Erasmus Music BMI
Master #52706A Recorded 5/5/65
J Sherman/N. Sherman
There's a time a for joy
A time for tears
A time we'll treasure through the years
We'll remember always
Graduation day
At the senior prom
We danced 'til three
And there you gave your heart to me
We'll remember always
Graduation day
Though we leave in sorrow
All the joys we've known
We can face tomorrow
Knowing we'll never walk alone
When the ivy walls
Are far behind
No matter where our paths may wind
We'll remember always
Graduation day
We'll remember always
Graduation day
Never my love
You ask me if there'll come a time
when I grow tired of you;
never my love, never my love.
You wonder if this heart of mine
will lose its desire for you;
never my love,
never my love.
What makes you think love will end
when you know that my whole life
depends on you?
You say you fear I'll change my mind
I won't require you,
Never my love,
never my love.
How can you think love will end
when I've asked you to spend your
whole life with me?
How to Compute Profit Margin and Markup
How to Compute Profit Margin and Markup
Figuring out when you're making a profit is key to business success.
One of the most important financial concepts you will need to learn in running your new business is the computation of gross profit. And the tool that you use to maintain gross profit is markup. The gross profit on a product sold is computed as:
Sales - Cost of Goods Sold = Gross Profit
To understand gross profit, it is important to know the distinction between variable and fixed costs. Variable costs are those that change based on the amount of product being made and are incurred as a direct result of producing the product. Variable costs include:
Read the full article at entrepreneur.com
Things you can do to make your sari-sari store profitable.
Fast facts
In a neighborhood where there are many other sari-sari stores, the important thing is for your store to be different from the others. Study how you can make it stand above the rest by answering the following questions:
• Who are your most likely customers?
• What time do the other stores open and close?
• What items do you sell at the moment, and which ones provide the biggest profit?
• Can you lay down some ground rules, like a “no credit” policy?
In a neighborhood of many competitors, the trick is to make your sari-sari store different from the rest.
Q: After selling our passenger jeepney, my Mother used our garage for a sari-sari store which she opened six months ago. This is the latest addition to the six in our vicinity. I don’t think it’s making that much, and I want to help. What can I do?
— A. Sta. Maria, Manila
A: How different is your mom’s sari-sari store from the rest? We presume not much. So let’s start with your neighborhood. Since you know this better than we do, answer the following:
1. Who are the most likely customers? Are they mostly children, teenagers, college students, or professionals who are bed spacers? What are their usual needs? Stationery? Cooked food for dinner? Baon for school? Non-prescription drugs for fever or headache? If no one carries these, you might want to suggest these to your mom.
2. What time do the other stores open or close? Perhaps your mom can open earlier or close later than these do.
3. What items does your mom sell at the moment? Spend some time on this. You may find out that only 20 percent of her merchandise provides 80 percent of the profit. Remember, you only realize profits when goods are sold, not when they’re kept in inventory. So, what do you do with items that don’t sell?
4. Can your mom get these “20 percent” at bigger volumes so she can get price discounts? This way she can increase her profits. And who knows, she may even be the supplier of the other stores for specific items like cigarettes.
5. Additionally, can your mom easily replenish these so she doesn’t experience stock-outs? Remember, if she doesn’t have the item being sought by the customer, she has lost a sale.
6. Can you agree on some ground rules, like a “no credit” policy? This is to ensure that your mom’s store has enough cash to pay for necessary purchases. Or, like a listahan for anything that is bought and sold? Even those items (or even cash) taken by you and your family for personal use? This way, you’ll know which items are fast- or slow-moving and how much the store has sold for each day. And this way, your family does not treat the store’s kitty as a personal piggy bank.
7. Can you and the rest of your family pitch in during their free time so your mom can do other things?
We hope you find some of these pointers useful. The important thing is for your Mom’s sari-sari store to be different from the others.
Make The Family Business Work
By Ellen Desear-Espiritu
Conflicts are common in a family business because of blood relations and the thin line dividing personal and business affairs. The size of the business does not matter: the same resentments and jealousies simmer or boil over whether the business is a small company or a conglomerate with a huge holding firm.
The operations manager, a nephew, may resent the new sales manager, a cousin, for drawing a bigger salary or receiving more perks. The assistant vice president, a son, may hate a younger sibling because the upstart is being groomed to take over from the patriarch.
The resentments come to a head when the family fails to separate blood ties from strictly business concerns, according to Fernan Lucban, director of the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Entrepreneurial Management Program. “The task here is to make a successful shift from running a family business to building a lasting corporate organization,” he says. Family members can avoid conflict by agreeing on key issues such as the business’ direction, their specific roles in the company, and the rewards each of them may expect.
Mila’s Lechon matriarch Antonina Cesario credits discipline and a common goal for the success of the 30-year-old business with 37 stores in Metro Manila. A strong work ethic binds the siblings together. “Matagal na kaming nagne-negosyo,” says Cesario, 70, a pharmacy graduate. “Bata pa kami tinuruan na kaming lahat na magkakapatid na magtinda. May kaya ang mga magulang namin pero hindi kame pinayaman sa pera kundi sa disiplina, tipid, sipag at tiyaga. Kung hindi naturuan nang husto ang mga bata na magnegosyo, siguro walang nangyari.”
What else should you do to make your family business a success?
• Ask if the business is progressive. If not, know why and then make it more efficient and forward-looking, says Lucban.
• If your business is candle making, don’t stop at making candles but start selling the candles yourself, putting up more stores, and producing related products. Mila’s Lechon started with vegetables and fruits. “Nung nagtitinda pa lang ako ng prutas, ang aim ko noon magkaroon ng malaking puwesto para sa karinderya,” Cesario says. “Nung magkaroon ako ng karinderya, sabi ko magtitinda ako ng lechon. Ngayong meron na akong lichunan, sabi naman ng anak ko tignan namin ‘yung potential na mag-franchise.”
• Have a vision and get all family members pulling together to realize it. “You need a competent performing team,” Lucban says. Johnlu Koa, owner of the 25-chain French Baker in Metro Manila, got the idea for an upscale bakeshop from his father. The idea took from when he observed how people ate bread in Europe and he decided he could transplant the culture in Manila. “I was 30 at the time and torn between teaching and doing business with my family,” he says. “I was really inspired by my parents to make that bakeshop business come true, so I did!”
• Ensure orderly succession. One of the most common causes of family business failures is poor succession, says Lucban. A family business must prepare the next generation. At Mila’s Lechon, Cesario tasked family members with responsibilities before they reached high school. “Ngayon, meron akong isang anak na tagapamahala kung paano i-manage yung business nang sila-sila lang. Dapat nga retired na kame, pero titingnan ko pa rin yung mga bata.”
• Be there for the long haul. Whether your family business is new or has been there for as long as you can remember, plan ahead. Set your goal and then support it with clear and workable strategies. Ask yourself in what business you want to be in the next five, 10, 15, and 20 years. What do you want to be known for? The fastest growing company? The most profitable? The most caring? What competence do you have and what else do you need to develop?
• Be professional. Separate family concerns from the business. “You know that not all members of the family end up as managers or president of the company,” says Lucban. “One member might have the drive but not the skill to do things. The participation of a less qualified family member will only bring down the reputation and value of the business.”
So what do you do when push comes to shove and you must decide between pleasing relations and making the business work? The solution is not easy, but it will come to you. Sleep on it and it will come to you.
Are Millionaires and PhDs Really Smarter?
Millionaires and PhDs are not smarter or better than the rest of humanity. But there is one major difference: Confidence! Because of their situation, they feel much more secure about the future.
So, if millionaires aren’t smarter, why do they have a lot more money than most of us? A few reasons come to mind:
• People with money often inherit it. Or, they inherit the opportunities that come from their families having money. This often includes access to a network of well-heeled businessmen and investors.
• They are in the right place at the right time. For example, during Microsoft’s heyday, many employees became millionaires and retired after working with the company only 5 years.
• People who make millions from the ground up, from their own efforts, are rare and usually have a good business sense. Most millionaires aren’t in this category.
And, if people with advanced college degrees aren’t really smarter, they must have something (besides confidence). So, what is it?
• They have the financial resources to pay for college, whether from their family’s savings, financial aide, or working their way through school.
• They usually have good memories, or at least a good short-term memory that enables them to memorize numerous facts they promptly forget after the exams are over. (Most educational systems still reward good memories over the ability to analyze and creatively solve problems.)
• They have a certain amount of discipline. (Or, they hire ghostwriters to write their masters theses and doctoral dissertations for them! Yes—some people do this!)
Life circumstances, including those that evolve from the choices we make, can make a big difference. For example, when people get married or have children at a young age, it limits their opportunities for going to school. Sometimes people must take care of disabled family members or younger siblings. There are many life events, some unforeseen, that can make it nearly impossible for someone to complete a college, or even a high-school, education. But most of these have nothing to do with intelligence.
So! If you have been feeling “less than” because you don’t have a degree, an advanced degree, or a million dollars in the bank, please stop beating yourself up. Most likely, you are just as smart as the next person. You are just on a different path.
- by O’Vivian, a versatile author and artist who believes that art has the ability to help heal, and inspire, the soul
How to Grow Guyabano (Soursop)
Guayabano, guyabano or soursop in English (Anona muricata Linn.) is a small tree about 5 to 7 meters in height. The leaves are alternate, oval in shape, pointed at both ends, smooth and shining, 7 to 20 centimeters long and with petioles about 5 millimeters long. The flowers are large, yellowish or greenish yellow and solitary. There are six large, fleshy or leathery petals in two series. They are heart-shaped, with pointed tip, and up to 5 centimeters in length and 3 centimeters in breadth. In the center of the flower is a cone-shaped mass of many carpels which will form the fruit, and below this are very numerous stamens.
A native of tropical America, was introduced into the Philippines at an early date and is no cultivated in all parts of the Archipelago.
Guyabano is a green, soft spine, pea-shaped fruit with a sweet-sour flavor. It weighs about two to five kilos. The skin is thin and its flesh is a white, soft fibrous pulp which has a very agreeable flavor but rather sour. Its mature, green fruit is used as vegetable and made into sweet meats, while the ripe fruit is eaten raw or for dessert.
A lot of concoctions can be made into guyabano like delicious sherbets, ice drops and fruit drinks. An assortment of punch and cocktail drinks can be made by mixing the nectar with wine rum or cola drinks or buko (fresh coconut) juice and ice.
There are two strains of guyabano: the sweet and the ordinary. Both have the same botanic description. The former, however, tastes sweeter than the ordinary. Belonging to the family Anonaceae, other familiar fruits beside guyabano are atis (Anona Squamosa or sugar apple), anonas (Anona reticulata or custard apple), and atemoya (Anona).
Nutritive Mineral Content of Guyabano
Guyabano fruit is an excellent source of vitamins B and C. However, it is deficient in Vitamin A, calcium and phosphorous. Below is the mineral content analyses of the fruit:
• Moisture
• Ash
• Phosphorous(P20)
• Calcium (CaO)
• Iron (Fe2O2)
• Proteins
Soil and Climate
The plant grows in any kind of soil, but a fairly deep, friable soil of volcanic origin is conducive to growth & fruiting. It thrives very well from sea level up to 500 meters above sea level. It is best to plant them at the start of the rainy season.
Method of Propagation
• Grafting
• cutting
• marcotting
• budding
Note:
1. Refers to time from field setting to first harvest. Asexually propagated plants generally mature about twice earlier than plants grown from seeds.
2. Computed on the bases of distance of planting given for each crop.
Fertilization Guide
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Rate of
Age of Plant N-P-K (kg/hectare) Method of Application
------------- --------------------- --------------------------------
Planning time 250-300 gms. Complete Apply 3 inches below the roots
fertilizer (14-14-14) and 5 inches to side of seedling
or (12-24-12) at planting. 8 cm. below roots
and 10 cm. to the side.
Young trees 300-500 gms. of com- Mix and apply in two equal doses
(1-3 years) plete fertilizer (14- by digging along periphery of
14-14) or (12-24-12) the tree. 1st application- start
plus 200-300 gms. of rainy season. 2nd application
Urea (45-0-0) - end of rainy season.
Bearing trees 0.5-3 kg. complete - same as above -
fertilizer plus 200-
300 gms. muriate of
potash (0-0-60)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Disease Control
Anthracnose is the most common disease of guyabano, cause by a fungus and transmitted by means of wind-splashed rain and contact with infected fruits. Spray flowers and developing fruits with any following:
• Benlate at 2-4 grams per gallon of water
• Manzate at 6-8 grams per gallon of water
• Shell Copper Fungicide at 14-1 grams per gallon of water.
Pink disease is caused by a fungus and infective material is the common mode of transmission.
Symptoms: appearance of cracks on trunks or branches and secretions of gums; affected area covered with a thick mass of pink mycelia during the rainy season; drying of mycelia during dry weather with color changing to dirty white or gray eventually leading to die-back condition.
Control
1. Prune and burn infected branches and twigs.
2. Disinfect by spraying with copper fungicide or lime-sulfur mixture
3. Keep orchard clean of any source of infections.
Maturity
Fruits are mature when they become dark and shiny green with recurved spines set far apart and the skin appearing to burst with pressure from within. Ripe fruits are light yellow and soft.
Medicinal Value
The guyabano fruit is use as a cure for cough, scurvy and fever. It contains Vitamin A, calcium, phosphorous and rich with vitamin B and C. It also contains 11.62 percent sugar, mostly glucose and fructose. The green fruits and seeds can induce vomiting, remedy dysentery and arrest secretion or bleeding.
The sap of the young leaves may be applied directly on pimples to induce suppuration. The sap is also considered parasitical. An alcoholic extract of the leaves, when distilled with steam, yields a small amount of essential oil. The portion of alcoholic extract which is soluble in water contains a large amount of potassium chloride together with dextrose tannins, amorphous products, and a small amount of an alkaloid substance which could not be crystallized. The leaves and roots also cure colic and convulsions.
Related post: Processing of Guyabano (Soursop)
GUYABANO ADE
Ingredients
• 1 kilo ripe guayabano
• 4 cups water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Calamansi juice
Procedure:
1. Wash and peel fruits. Remove the core and seeds. Then cut pulp into small pieces.
2. Heat in four cups water. Cool. Strain mixture through a clean cheese cloth into a pitcher, then squeeze the juice.
3. Add sugar and enough calamansi juice or make the mixture a little sour. Serve with ice cubes. Add more sugar if desired.
GUYABANO NECTAR
1. Wash and peel guayabano. Remove core and seeds. Cut into small pieces. Mix two cups water for every three cups of pulp.
2. Pass guayabano pulp through a juice extractor or a corn mill grinder. Add little by little so juice can be fully extracted.
3. Strain through a stainless steel strainer. Measure extracted pulp juice and add one cup of water for every two cups juice. Add one cup sugar for every 3" cups of pulp mixture.
4. Pass sugared mixture through a juice mixer or beat with a rotary egg beater. Place the mixture in an enamel casserole or a stainless steel kettle, and cook until it simmers. Do not let it boil. Lower the heat and stir from time to time until mixture become thick.
5. Pour cooked mixture into tall tin cans while still hot, leaving 1/4 inch space on top of the mixture.
6. Seal the cans and place them in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.
7. Cool and label.
Related post: How to Grow Guyabano (Soursop)
Figuring out when you're making a profit is key to business success.
One of the most important financial concepts you will need to learn in running your new business is the computation of gross profit. And the tool that you use to maintain gross profit is markup. The gross profit on a product sold is computed as:
Sales - Cost of Goods Sold = Gross Profit
To understand gross profit, it is important to know the distinction between variable and fixed costs. Variable costs are those that change based on the amount of product being made and are incurred as a direct result of producing the product. Variable costs include:
Read the full article at entrepreneur.com
Things you can do to make your sari-sari store profitable.
Fast facts
In a neighborhood where there are many other sari-sari stores, the important thing is for your store to be different from the others. Study how you can make it stand above the rest by answering the following questions:
• Who are your most likely customers?
• What time do the other stores open and close?
• What items do you sell at the moment, and which ones provide the biggest profit?
• Can you lay down some ground rules, like a “no credit” policy?
In a neighborhood of many competitors, the trick is to make your sari-sari store different from the rest.
Q: After selling our passenger jeepney, my Mother used our garage for a sari-sari store which she opened six months ago. This is the latest addition to the six in our vicinity. I don’t think it’s making that much, and I want to help. What can I do?
— A. Sta. Maria, Manila
A: How different is your mom’s sari-sari store from the rest? We presume not much. So let’s start with your neighborhood. Since you know this better than we do, answer the following:
1. Who are the most likely customers? Are they mostly children, teenagers, college students, or professionals who are bed spacers? What are their usual needs? Stationery? Cooked food for dinner? Baon for school? Non-prescription drugs for fever or headache? If no one carries these, you might want to suggest these to your mom.
2. What time do the other stores open or close? Perhaps your mom can open earlier or close later than these do.
3. What items does your mom sell at the moment? Spend some time on this. You may find out that only 20 percent of her merchandise provides 80 percent of the profit. Remember, you only realize profits when goods are sold, not when they’re kept in inventory. So, what do you do with items that don’t sell?
4. Can your mom get these “20 percent” at bigger volumes so she can get price discounts? This way she can increase her profits. And who knows, she may even be the supplier of the other stores for specific items like cigarettes.
5. Additionally, can your mom easily replenish these so she doesn’t experience stock-outs? Remember, if she doesn’t have the item being sought by the customer, she has lost a sale.
6. Can you agree on some ground rules, like a “no credit” policy? This is to ensure that your mom’s store has enough cash to pay for necessary purchases. Or, like a listahan for anything that is bought and sold? Even those items (or even cash) taken by you and your family for personal use? This way, you’ll know which items are fast- or slow-moving and how much the store has sold for each day. And this way, your family does not treat the store’s kitty as a personal piggy bank.
7. Can you and the rest of your family pitch in during their free time so your mom can do other things?
We hope you find some of these pointers useful. The important thing is for your Mom’s sari-sari store to be different from the others.
Make The Family Business Work
By Ellen Desear-Espiritu
Conflicts are common in a family business because of blood relations and the thin line dividing personal and business affairs. The size of the business does not matter: the same resentments and jealousies simmer or boil over whether the business is a small company or a conglomerate with a huge holding firm.
The operations manager, a nephew, may resent the new sales manager, a cousin, for drawing a bigger salary or receiving more perks. The assistant vice president, a son, may hate a younger sibling because the upstart is being groomed to take over from the patriarch.
The resentments come to a head when the family fails to separate blood ties from strictly business concerns, according to Fernan Lucban, director of the University of Asia and the Pacific’s Entrepreneurial Management Program. “The task here is to make a successful shift from running a family business to building a lasting corporate organization,” he says. Family members can avoid conflict by agreeing on key issues such as the business’ direction, their specific roles in the company, and the rewards each of them may expect.
Mila’s Lechon matriarch Antonina Cesario credits discipline and a common goal for the success of the 30-year-old business with 37 stores in Metro Manila. A strong work ethic binds the siblings together. “Matagal na kaming nagne-negosyo,” says Cesario, 70, a pharmacy graduate. “Bata pa kami tinuruan na kaming lahat na magkakapatid na magtinda. May kaya ang mga magulang namin pero hindi kame pinayaman sa pera kundi sa disiplina, tipid, sipag at tiyaga. Kung hindi naturuan nang husto ang mga bata na magnegosyo, siguro walang nangyari.”
What else should you do to make your family business a success?
• Ask if the business is progressive. If not, know why and then make it more efficient and forward-looking, says Lucban.
• If your business is candle making, don’t stop at making candles but start selling the candles yourself, putting up more stores, and producing related products. Mila’s Lechon started with vegetables and fruits. “Nung nagtitinda pa lang ako ng prutas, ang aim ko noon magkaroon ng malaking puwesto para sa karinderya,” Cesario says. “Nung magkaroon ako ng karinderya, sabi ko magtitinda ako ng lechon. Ngayong meron na akong lichunan, sabi naman ng anak ko tignan namin ‘yung potential na mag-franchise.”
• Have a vision and get all family members pulling together to realize it. “You need a competent performing team,” Lucban says. Johnlu Koa, owner of the 25-chain French Baker in Metro Manila, got the idea for an upscale bakeshop from his father. The idea took from when he observed how people ate bread in Europe and he decided he could transplant the culture in Manila. “I was 30 at the time and torn between teaching and doing business with my family,” he says. “I was really inspired by my parents to make that bakeshop business come true, so I did!”
• Ensure orderly succession. One of the most common causes of family business failures is poor succession, says Lucban. A family business must prepare the next generation. At Mila’s Lechon, Cesario tasked family members with responsibilities before they reached high school. “Ngayon, meron akong isang anak na tagapamahala kung paano i-manage yung business nang sila-sila lang. Dapat nga retired na kame, pero titingnan ko pa rin yung mga bata.”
• Be there for the long haul. Whether your family business is new or has been there for as long as you can remember, plan ahead. Set your goal and then support it with clear and workable strategies. Ask yourself in what business you want to be in the next five, 10, 15, and 20 years. What do you want to be known for? The fastest growing company? The most profitable? The most caring? What competence do you have and what else do you need to develop?
• Be professional. Separate family concerns from the business. “You know that not all members of the family end up as managers or president of the company,” says Lucban. “One member might have the drive but not the skill to do things. The participation of a less qualified family member will only bring down the reputation and value of the business.”
So what do you do when push comes to shove and you must decide between pleasing relations and making the business work? The solution is not easy, but it will come to you. Sleep on it and it will come to you.
Are Millionaires and PhDs Really Smarter?
Millionaires and PhDs are not smarter or better than the rest of humanity. But there is one major difference: Confidence! Because of their situation, they feel much more secure about the future.
So, if millionaires aren’t smarter, why do they have a lot more money than most of us? A few reasons come to mind:
• People with money often inherit it. Or, they inherit the opportunities that come from their families having money. This often includes access to a network of well-heeled businessmen and investors.
• They are in the right place at the right time. For example, during Microsoft’s heyday, many employees became millionaires and retired after working with the company only 5 years.
• People who make millions from the ground up, from their own efforts, are rare and usually have a good business sense. Most millionaires aren’t in this category.
And, if people with advanced college degrees aren’t really smarter, they must have something (besides confidence). So, what is it?
• They have the financial resources to pay for college, whether from their family’s savings, financial aide, or working their way through school.
• They usually have good memories, or at least a good short-term memory that enables them to memorize numerous facts they promptly forget after the exams are over. (Most educational systems still reward good memories over the ability to analyze and creatively solve problems.)
• They have a certain amount of discipline. (Or, they hire ghostwriters to write their masters theses and doctoral dissertations for them! Yes—some people do this!)
Life circumstances, including those that evolve from the choices we make, can make a big difference. For example, when people get married or have children at a young age, it limits their opportunities for going to school. Sometimes people must take care of disabled family members or younger siblings. There are many life events, some unforeseen, that can make it nearly impossible for someone to complete a college, or even a high-school, education. But most of these have nothing to do with intelligence.
So! If you have been feeling “less than” because you don’t have a degree, an advanced degree, or a million dollars in the bank, please stop beating yourself up. Most likely, you are just as smart as the next person. You are just on a different path.
- by O’Vivian, a versatile author and artist who believes that art has the ability to help heal, and inspire, the soul
How to Grow Guyabano (Soursop)
Guayabano, guyabano or soursop in English (Anona muricata Linn.) is a small tree about 5 to 7 meters in height. The leaves are alternate, oval in shape, pointed at both ends, smooth and shining, 7 to 20 centimeters long and with petioles about 5 millimeters long. The flowers are large, yellowish or greenish yellow and solitary. There are six large, fleshy or leathery petals in two series. They are heart-shaped, with pointed tip, and up to 5 centimeters in length and 3 centimeters in breadth. In the center of the flower is a cone-shaped mass of many carpels which will form the fruit, and below this are very numerous stamens.
A native of tropical America, was introduced into the Philippines at an early date and is no cultivated in all parts of the Archipelago.
Guyabano is a green, soft spine, pea-shaped fruit with a sweet-sour flavor. It weighs about two to five kilos. The skin is thin and its flesh is a white, soft fibrous pulp which has a very agreeable flavor but rather sour. Its mature, green fruit is used as vegetable and made into sweet meats, while the ripe fruit is eaten raw or for dessert.
A lot of concoctions can be made into guyabano like delicious sherbets, ice drops and fruit drinks. An assortment of punch and cocktail drinks can be made by mixing the nectar with wine rum or cola drinks or buko (fresh coconut) juice and ice.
There are two strains of guyabano: the sweet and the ordinary. Both have the same botanic description. The former, however, tastes sweeter than the ordinary. Belonging to the family Anonaceae, other familiar fruits beside guyabano are atis (Anona Squamosa or sugar apple), anonas (Anona reticulata or custard apple), and atemoya (Anona).
Nutritive Mineral Content of Guyabano
Guyabano fruit is an excellent source of vitamins B and C. However, it is deficient in Vitamin A, calcium and phosphorous. Below is the mineral content analyses of the fruit:
• Moisture
• Ash
• Phosphorous(P20)
• Calcium (CaO)
• Iron (Fe2O2)
• Proteins
Soil and Climate
The plant grows in any kind of soil, but a fairly deep, friable soil of volcanic origin is conducive to growth & fruiting. It thrives very well from sea level up to 500 meters above sea level. It is best to plant them at the start of the rainy season.
Method of Propagation
• Grafting
• cutting
• marcotting
• budding
Note:
1. Refers to time from field setting to first harvest. Asexually propagated plants generally mature about twice earlier than plants grown from seeds.
2. Computed on the bases of distance of planting given for each crop.
Fertilization Guide
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommended Rate of
Age of Plant N-P-K (kg/hectare) Method of Application
------------- --------------------- --------------------------------
Planning time 250-300 gms. Complete Apply 3 inches below the roots
fertilizer (14-14-14) and 5 inches to side of seedling
or (12-24-12) at planting. 8 cm. below roots
and 10 cm. to the side.
Young trees 300-500 gms. of com- Mix and apply in two equal doses
(1-3 years) plete fertilizer (14- by digging along periphery of
14-14) or (12-24-12) the tree. 1st application- start
plus 200-300 gms. of rainy season. 2nd application
Urea (45-0-0) - end of rainy season.
Bearing trees 0.5-3 kg. complete - same as above -
fertilizer plus 200-
300 gms. muriate of
potash (0-0-60)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Disease Control
Anthracnose is the most common disease of guyabano, cause by a fungus and transmitted by means of wind-splashed rain and contact with infected fruits. Spray flowers and developing fruits with any following:
• Benlate at 2-4 grams per gallon of water
• Manzate at 6-8 grams per gallon of water
• Shell Copper Fungicide at 14-1 grams per gallon of water.
Pink disease is caused by a fungus and infective material is the common mode of transmission.
Symptoms: appearance of cracks on trunks or branches and secretions of gums; affected area covered with a thick mass of pink mycelia during the rainy season; drying of mycelia during dry weather with color changing to dirty white or gray eventually leading to die-back condition.
Control
1. Prune and burn infected branches and twigs.
2. Disinfect by spraying with copper fungicide or lime-sulfur mixture
3. Keep orchard clean of any source of infections.
Maturity
Fruits are mature when they become dark and shiny green with recurved spines set far apart and the skin appearing to burst with pressure from within. Ripe fruits are light yellow and soft.
Medicinal Value
The guyabano fruit is use as a cure for cough, scurvy and fever. It contains Vitamin A, calcium, phosphorous and rich with vitamin B and C. It also contains 11.62 percent sugar, mostly glucose and fructose. The green fruits and seeds can induce vomiting, remedy dysentery and arrest secretion or bleeding.
The sap of the young leaves may be applied directly on pimples to induce suppuration. The sap is also considered parasitical. An alcoholic extract of the leaves, when distilled with steam, yields a small amount of essential oil. The portion of alcoholic extract which is soluble in water contains a large amount of potassium chloride together with dextrose tannins, amorphous products, and a small amount of an alkaloid substance which could not be crystallized. The leaves and roots also cure colic and convulsions.
Related post: Processing of Guyabano (Soursop)
GUYABANO ADE
Ingredients
• 1 kilo ripe guayabano
• 4 cups water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Calamansi juice
Procedure:
1. Wash and peel fruits. Remove the core and seeds. Then cut pulp into small pieces.
2. Heat in four cups water. Cool. Strain mixture through a clean cheese cloth into a pitcher, then squeeze the juice.
3. Add sugar and enough calamansi juice or make the mixture a little sour. Serve with ice cubes. Add more sugar if desired.
GUYABANO NECTAR
1. Wash and peel guayabano. Remove core and seeds. Cut into small pieces. Mix two cups water for every three cups of pulp.
2. Pass guayabano pulp through a juice extractor or a corn mill grinder. Add little by little so juice can be fully extracted.
3. Strain through a stainless steel strainer. Measure extracted pulp juice and add one cup of water for every two cups juice. Add one cup sugar for every 3" cups of pulp mixture.
4. Pass sugared mixture through a juice mixer or beat with a rotary egg beater. Place the mixture in an enamel casserole or a stainless steel kettle, and cook until it simmers. Do not let it boil. Lower the heat and stir from time to time until mixture become thick.
5. Pour cooked mixture into tall tin cans while still hot, leaving 1/4 inch space on top of the mixture.
6. Seal the cans and place them in a pressure cooker for 15 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.
7. Cool and label.
Related post: How to Grow Guyabano (Soursop)
Banana (Saging)
Banana is one of the most common and widely grown fruit crops in the Philippines. It is also one of the country's major dollar earners, and has consistently ranked next to coconut oil and prawns in terms of value earnings during the last five years.
In 1991, banana topped local production among the other major fruits such as pineapple and mango, thus eating up more than one-third of the production pie.
Banana has various uses. The ripe fruit is pureed, candied, and preserved in various forms when not eaten fresh. Its extract is used in the manufacture of catsup, vinegar,and wine. The unripe fruit is powdered and chipped.
In rural areas, the young leaves are pounded to suppress bleeding and treat wounds. The leaves are also widely used as packing materials for fruits and vegetables in market centers. Banana fiber is manufactured into rope, sack, and mat. Sheets of paper and paper boards are also made from banana peel. Banana blossom is exported dried. Filipino housewives use it in special dishes.
VARIETY
Banana is native to Southeast Asia where the climate is warm and humid. Of the 57 banana cultivars, the following are the most common in the Philippines:
1. Saba - grows to as tall as 20 feet; fruit is angular; has thick peel that is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 15 to 16 months.
2. Lacatan - grows to a height of five to nine feet; fruit is round, seedless; has thick peel that has green when unripe, yellow-orange when ripe; gestation period is 14 to 15 months.
3. Latundan - grows from six to 10 feet tall; fruit is round; has thin peel that is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 12 months.
4. Bungulan - fruit is round, very sweet, seedless and easily rots; has thick peel that is green when unripe and remains green when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 12 months.
5. Cavendish - reaches five to 10 feet high; fruit is bigger than Bungulan; peel is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is yellow when ripe; export quality; gestation period is six to eight months.
6. Other varieties grown in the country include the Morado, Pitogo Los Banos, Senorita, Tindok, Gloria, Granda, and Tumok.
CLIMATE AND SOIL REQUIREMENTS
Banana is well adapted to well-drained, loamy, soil that is rich in organic matter. Areas with an average rainfall of 4000 millimeters (mm) a year are ideal sites for a banana plantation. A temperature between 27 to 30 degrees Celsius is most favorable to the crop.
Banana grows at sea level up to 1,800 meters altitude. It is susceptible to root rot when exposed to too much water. Typhoon belt do not make good plantation sites.
PROPAGATION
Banana can be propagated through its rhizomes and suckers. The latter, however, is the best recommended. Suckers must be parasites-free and have healthy roots. These are spaded out of the clumps when four-to-five feet tall.
LAND PREPARATION
The fields is plowed and harrowed thrice. All stumps and bushes must be removed. Knee-deep holes with 45-cm diameters are dug and 3each hole is fertilized with 10 grams of complete fertilizer and a few of granular nematode.
PLANTING
Suckers are set on field in vertical position, then covered with surface soil. Compost material added to the soil enhances the recovery and growth of the new plants. The soil is stumped around each base and watered regularly. During dry months, irrigation, if possible, is advised.Planting is the best at the start of the rainy season.
CULTIVATION AND MAINTENANCE
Cultivation should go beyond six inches from the base of the plant to avoid root injury. Intercrops or Glamoxine or Karmex sprays act as weed control. Plants must be propped with bamboo poles during fruiting for support against strong winds.
DESUCKERING OR PRUNING
Unnecessary suckers must be killed by cutting them off the mother plants. Only one or two suckers must be allowed per hill to reduce soil nutrients competition.
FERTILIZATION
For poor soils, fertilizers should contain N-P-K at a ratio of 3-1-6. the ratio is doubled when fertilizers are applied to young plants. The amount of fertilizer applied increases as the tree matures. At flowering and fruiting period, a tree needs five to six pounds of complete fertilizer.
PEST AND DISEASES
There are at least 27 insect pests that attack banana plants in the Philippines. However, there are only three pests known to cost significant damage over all types of banana.
The banana corm weevil feeds on suckers and destroys the corm tissues. It causes the suckers to die of bore attack. To control this pest, spray the soil with Furadan 5 G, 10 G. Sanitation and cutting of affected corms are also effective cultural controls, and are environment friendly.
Fruit-peel sarring beetle damages the fruit surfaces. The banana bunch is usually sprayed with Decis to control infestation. The banana floral thrips can be easily controlled by Diazinon 40/60 EC or Decis 2.5. 100 EC spray.
The three major diseases of banana are the sigatoka, pitting or wilting and the moko. Sigatoka is a leaf spot disease caused by Mycosphaerella musicola. This causes the premature death of leaves. In severe cases, the size of bunches and fingers is reduced. The fruit is also ripens prematurely and develops abnormal flavor and smell. Plants are usually sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Badly spotted leaves are removed to avoid contamination.
Pitting or Wilting disease is characterized by dry, reddish-brown or black, circular or oval, depressed spots. Sanitation is one way of preventing the disease which comes in season with the rainy days. All collapsed leaves should be removed.
Moko disease, on the other hand, transmitted from plat to plant by insects and infected tools. The impact of moko to plants is similar to that of the sigatoka. Only, it does not emit unfavorable smell. Infected fruits also blacken inside. Infection is prevented by disinfecting tools with formaldehyde.
In view of environmental considerations, alternative controls to pests and diseases are being introduced under Integrated Pest Management. Infected plants and weeds must be uprooted to keep the area free of host plats for six to 12 months.
HARVESTING
Regardless of variety, the maturity of banana can be distinguished when the last leaf turns yellow. The angle formation of the fingers also determines ripeness. The rounder the angle of the fingers, the more mature the are.
Saba is harvest 15 to 16 months after planting; Lacatan, 4 to 15 months; Latundan, 12 months; Bungulan, 12 months; Cavendish, six to eight months.
Harvesting needs two people to serve as the cutter and the backer. It involves cutting deep into the middle of the trunk and letting the top fall gradually until the bunch is at the reach if the backer. The peduncle is cut long enough to facilitate handling.
Fruits for immediate shipping are harvested 5 to 10 days before ripening. Bananas for marketing are packed in crates as tightly as possible to lessen unnecessary vibrations during transport.
source : Dept. of Agriculture, picture courtesy of ethanmeleg.com
Cavendish banana
Lakatan banana
Latundan banana
Saba banana
Bungulan banana
BANANA PROCESSING
Banana Chips
Sweetened or salted banana chips are prepared from hard, green Saba or Cavendish.
• Prepare brix or arnibal for sweetened chips by mixing three parts of sugar for every one part of water.
• Clean, peel, and slice the bananas to about .05 to 1.0 mm thick. Soak in cooking oil, turning frequently to prevent sticking.
• Place the banana chips in a strainer, allowing the oil to drip while heating cooking oil in a pan. Dip and fry the chips in the cooking pan without removing them from the strainer. Turn until yellowish brown, then lift the strainer and allow the oil to drip.
• Soak the fried chips in arnibal for two to three minutes. Let the syrup drip, the fry again until the chips become shiny.
• Let cool before packing or placing in bottles, cans, or plastic bags
For salted banana chips, use salt instead of refined sugar and soak in salt solution instead of arnibal.
Pastillas De Saging
• Boil ripe Saba, then peel and slice to 3-cm thick.
• Prepared half a cup of water for every two cups of sliced banana and 300 grams sugar for every kilo of the same. Mix and mash the ingredients and cook in low heat while mixing until the ingredients become uniform, shiny, and no longer stick to tha pan.
• Tranfer the mixture to a kneading board covered with wax paper and with sugar sprinkled over it. Press with a long rolling pin until the mixture becomes 1-cm thick, then add butter and sugar according to taste. Slice to piece 4 cm x 4 cm thick. Let cool before packing in candy wrappers.
Banana Wine
• Peel ripe bananas and slice thinly
• Measure. To every one part sliced bananas, add one-and-one-a-half parts water.
• Boil for 30 minutes or longer depending upon the quantity of the pulp.
• Strain
• Add sugar to the extract (one part sugar to every three parts extract).
• Stir and boil to dissolve the sugar. Sugar content should be 22-24 degrees. Brix.
• Allow to cool.
• Place in clean glass container or demi-johns.
• Inoculate with yeast (one tablespoon Red Star yeast to every 40 liters of boiled sweetened juice).
• Plug mouth of demi-john with a clean piece of paper to protect from dust.
• Ferment for a mouth.
• Siphon out the clear fermented liquid.
• Filter and transfer to a sterilized oak barrel for aging
• Cover hole with a wooden plug and seal with melted paraffin
• Age for two years or longer.
• Clarify the wine with eggwhites (eight eggwhites for every 30 liters of wine) by heating the aged wine in stream bath or heating the age wine in steam bath or a double boiler to a temperature of 55-60 degrees Celsius while adding the well-beaten eggwhites.
• Stir to maintain the temperature to 15-20 minutes.
• Cool.
• Filter the wine and bottle by siphoning into clear and sterilized bottles.
Banana Vinegar
Materials
• One part peeled ripe bananas (25 pieces,medium-sized)
• Two parts water
• ¼ part sugar
Procedures
• Wash ripe bananas.
• Peel and cut into pieces.
• Add water and boil for five minutes
• Cool.
• Strain.
• Add sugar and heat again
• Cool again.
• Pour into suitable containers.
• Add one-teaspoon yeast for every kilo of fruit used.
• Plug mouthy of container with a piece of paper to protect it from dust
• Ferment to two to three weeks
• Siphon out clear, fermented liquid into a sterilized container.
• Add 100 cc of mother liquor to every kilo of fruit used.
• Plug mouth of container with cotton and cover it with clean paper.
• Ferment for one to two months.
• Pasteurize at 70 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes.
Banana Figs
• Select firm, ripe Cavendish bananas.
• Peel.
• Blanch for 30 seconds in boiling syrup made up of one part water and ¾ part sugar. Brown sugar may be used.
• Cook for one minute.
• Remove from fire and let bananas soak in the syrup overnight.
• Drain bananas.
• Add ¼ part sugar to syrup and boil.
• Add bananas and cook for one minute.
• Everyday for three more days, concentrate syrup by boiling for five to seven minutes.
• Soak bananas. On the final concentration, the syrup must attain a thick consistency.
• Soak bananas in the thick syrup for a week to plump and be thoroughly impregnated with syrup.
• Drain bananas and dry. The figs when dried can be handled without sticking to the finger.
Señorita
Lacatan
In 1991, banana topped local production among the other major fruits such as pineapple and mango, thus eating up more than one-third of the production pie.
Banana has various uses. The ripe fruit is pureed, candied, and preserved in various forms when not eaten fresh. Its extract is used in the manufacture of catsup, vinegar,and wine. The unripe fruit is powdered and chipped.
In rural areas, the young leaves are pounded to suppress bleeding and treat wounds. The leaves are also widely used as packing materials for fruits and vegetables in market centers. Banana fiber is manufactured into rope, sack, and mat. Sheets of paper and paper boards are also made from banana peel. Banana blossom is exported dried. Filipino housewives use it in special dishes.
VARIETY
Banana is native to Southeast Asia where the climate is warm and humid. Of the 57 banana cultivars, the following are the most common in the Philippines:
1. Saba - grows to as tall as 20 feet; fruit is angular; has thick peel that is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 15 to 16 months.
2. Lacatan - grows to a height of five to nine feet; fruit is round, seedless; has thick peel that has green when unripe, yellow-orange when ripe; gestation period is 14 to 15 months.
3. Latundan - grows from six to 10 feet tall; fruit is round; has thin peel that is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 12 months.
4. Bungulan - fruit is round, very sweet, seedless and easily rots; has thick peel that is green when unripe and remains green when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 12 months.
5. Cavendish - reaches five to 10 feet high; fruit is bigger than Bungulan; peel is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is yellow when ripe; export quality; gestation period is six to eight months.
6. Other varieties grown in the country include the Morado, Pitogo Los Banos, Senorita, Tindok, Gloria, Granda, and Tumok.
CLIMATE AND SOIL REQUIREMENTS
Banana is well adapted to well-drained, loamy, soil that is rich in organic matter. Areas with an average rainfall of 4000 millimeters (mm) a year are ideal sites for a banana plantation. A temperature between 27 to 30 degrees Celsius is most favorable to the crop.
Banana grows at sea level up to 1,800 meters altitude. It is susceptible to root rot when exposed to too much water. Typhoon belt do not make good plantation sites.
PROPAGATION
Banana can be propagated through its rhizomes and suckers. The latter, however, is the best recommended. Suckers must be parasites-free and have healthy roots. These are spaded out of the clumps when four-to-five feet tall.
LAND PREPARATION
The fields is plowed and harrowed thrice. All stumps and bushes must be removed. Knee-deep holes with 45-cm diameters are dug and 3each hole is fertilized with 10 grams of complete fertilizer and a few of granular nematode.
PLANTING
Suckers are set on field in vertical position, then covered with surface soil. Compost material added to the soil enhances the recovery and growth of the new plants. The soil is stumped around each base and watered regularly. During dry months, irrigation, if possible, is advised.Planting is the best at the start of the rainy season.
CULTIVATION AND MAINTENANCE
Cultivation should go beyond six inches from the base of the plant to avoid root injury. Intercrops or Glamoxine or Karmex sprays act as weed control. Plants must be propped with bamboo poles during fruiting for support against strong winds.
DESUCKERING OR PRUNING
Unnecessary suckers must be killed by cutting them off the mother plants. Only one or two suckers must be allowed per hill to reduce soil nutrients competition.
FERTILIZATION
For poor soils, fertilizers should contain N-P-K at a ratio of 3-1-6. the ratio is doubled when fertilizers are applied to young plants. The amount of fertilizer applied increases as the tree matures. At flowering and fruiting period, a tree needs five to six pounds of complete fertilizer.
PEST AND DISEASES
There are at least 27 insect pests that attack banana plants in the Philippines. However, there are only three pests known to cost significant damage over all types of banana.
The banana corm weevil feeds on suckers and destroys the corm tissues. It causes the suckers to die of bore attack. To control this pest, spray the soil with Furadan 5 G, 10 G. Sanitation and cutting of affected corms are also effective cultural controls, and are environment friendly.
Fruit-peel sarring beetle damages the fruit surfaces. The banana bunch is usually sprayed with Decis to control infestation. The banana floral thrips can be easily controlled by Diazinon 40/60 EC or Decis 2.5. 100 EC spray.
The three major diseases of banana are the sigatoka, pitting or wilting and the moko. Sigatoka is a leaf spot disease caused by Mycosphaerella musicola. This causes the premature death of leaves. In severe cases, the size of bunches and fingers is reduced. The fruit is also ripens prematurely and develops abnormal flavor and smell. Plants are usually sprayed with Bordeaux mixture. Badly spotted leaves are removed to avoid contamination.
Pitting or Wilting disease is characterized by dry, reddish-brown or black, circular or oval, depressed spots. Sanitation is one way of preventing the disease which comes in season with the rainy days. All collapsed leaves should be removed.
Moko disease, on the other hand, transmitted from plat to plant by insects and infected tools. The impact of moko to plants is similar to that of the sigatoka. Only, it does not emit unfavorable smell. Infected fruits also blacken inside. Infection is prevented by disinfecting tools with formaldehyde.
In view of environmental considerations, alternative controls to pests and diseases are being introduced under Integrated Pest Management. Infected plants and weeds must be uprooted to keep the area free of host plats for six to 12 months.
HARVESTING
Regardless of variety, the maturity of banana can be distinguished when the last leaf turns yellow. The angle formation of the fingers also determines ripeness. The rounder the angle of the fingers, the more mature the are.
Saba is harvest 15 to 16 months after planting; Lacatan, 4 to 15 months; Latundan, 12 months; Bungulan, 12 months; Cavendish, six to eight months.
Harvesting needs two people to serve as the cutter and the backer. It involves cutting deep into the middle of the trunk and letting the top fall gradually until the bunch is at the reach if the backer. The peduncle is cut long enough to facilitate handling.
Fruits for immediate shipping are harvested 5 to 10 days before ripening. Bananas for marketing are packed in crates as tightly as possible to lessen unnecessary vibrations during transport.
source : Dept. of Agriculture, picture courtesy of ethanmeleg.com
Cavendish banana
Lakatan banana
Latundan banana
Saba banana
Bungulan banana
BANANA PROCESSING
Banana Chips
Sweetened or salted banana chips are prepared from hard, green Saba or Cavendish.
• Prepare brix or arnibal for sweetened chips by mixing three parts of sugar for every one part of water.
• Clean, peel, and slice the bananas to about .05 to 1.0 mm thick. Soak in cooking oil, turning frequently to prevent sticking.
• Place the banana chips in a strainer, allowing the oil to drip while heating cooking oil in a pan. Dip and fry the chips in the cooking pan without removing them from the strainer. Turn until yellowish brown, then lift the strainer and allow the oil to drip.
• Soak the fried chips in arnibal for two to three minutes. Let the syrup drip, the fry again until the chips become shiny.
• Let cool before packing or placing in bottles, cans, or plastic bags
For salted banana chips, use salt instead of refined sugar and soak in salt solution instead of arnibal.
Pastillas De Saging
• Boil ripe Saba, then peel and slice to 3-cm thick.
• Prepared half a cup of water for every two cups of sliced banana and 300 grams sugar for every kilo of the same. Mix and mash the ingredients and cook in low heat while mixing until the ingredients become uniform, shiny, and no longer stick to tha pan.
• Tranfer the mixture to a kneading board covered with wax paper and with sugar sprinkled over it. Press with a long rolling pin until the mixture becomes 1-cm thick, then add butter and sugar according to taste. Slice to piece 4 cm x 4 cm thick. Let cool before packing in candy wrappers.
Banana Wine
• Peel ripe bananas and slice thinly
• Measure. To every one part sliced bananas, add one-and-one-a-half parts water.
• Boil for 30 minutes or longer depending upon the quantity of the pulp.
• Strain
• Add sugar to the extract (one part sugar to every three parts extract).
• Stir and boil to dissolve the sugar. Sugar content should be 22-24 degrees. Brix.
• Allow to cool.
• Place in clean glass container or demi-johns.
• Inoculate with yeast (one tablespoon Red Star yeast to every 40 liters of boiled sweetened juice).
• Plug mouth of demi-john with a clean piece of paper to protect from dust.
• Ferment for a mouth.
• Siphon out the clear fermented liquid.
• Filter and transfer to a sterilized oak barrel for aging
• Cover hole with a wooden plug and seal with melted paraffin
• Age for two years or longer.
• Clarify the wine with eggwhites (eight eggwhites for every 30 liters of wine) by heating the aged wine in stream bath or heating the age wine in steam bath or a double boiler to a temperature of 55-60 degrees Celsius while adding the well-beaten eggwhites.
• Stir to maintain the temperature to 15-20 minutes.
• Cool.
• Filter the wine and bottle by siphoning into clear and sterilized bottles.
Banana Vinegar
Materials
• One part peeled ripe bananas (25 pieces,medium-sized)
• Two parts water
• ¼ part sugar
Procedures
• Wash ripe bananas.
• Peel and cut into pieces.
• Add water and boil for five minutes
• Cool.
• Strain.
• Add sugar and heat again
• Cool again.
• Pour into suitable containers.
• Add one-teaspoon yeast for every kilo of fruit used.
• Plug mouthy of container with a piece of paper to protect it from dust
• Ferment to two to three weeks
• Siphon out clear, fermented liquid into a sterilized container.
• Add 100 cc of mother liquor to every kilo of fruit used.
• Plug mouth of container with cotton and cover it with clean paper.
• Ferment for one to two months.
• Pasteurize at 70 degrees Celcius for 20 minutes.
Banana Figs
• Select firm, ripe Cavendish bananas.
• Peel.
• Blanch for 30 seconds in boiling syrup made up of one part water and ¾ part sugar. Brown sugar may be used.
• Cook for one minute.
• Remove from fire and let bananas soak in the syrup overnight.
• Drain bananas.
• Add ¼ part sugar to syrup and boil.
• Add bananas and cook for one minute.
• Everyday for three more days, concentrate syrup by boiling for five to seven minutes.
• Soak bananas. On the final concentration, the syrup must attain a thick consistency.
• Soak bananas in the thick syrup for a week to plump and be thoroughly impregnated with syrup.
• Drain bananas and dry. The figs when dried can be handled without sticking to the finger.
Señorita
Lacatan
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Congratulations
Sa aking dalawang tsikiting na si Karen Faye at John Philip, congratulations sa inyong nakuhang karangalan mula sa akin sa inyong mama Fely. Wish ko lang na lalo nyo pang pagbutihin ang inyong pag-aaral.
Ang nasa larawan po ay ang aking anak na lalaki na si John Philip 4th honor sa kinder at ang aking kabiyak na si Fely.
Ang nasa larawan po ay ang aking anak na si Karen Faye 3rd honor sa grade IV.
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