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Primavera (Phillippiness)
- 1. THE STORY OF PRIMAVERA AN EOC ENTERPRISE.
- 5. Mid 80’s Opportunity to start small business.
- 6. “PRIMAVERA” ~ n. springtime “I am with you in making it a concrete expression of God’s love for each person who enters it.”
- 9. THERE IS NO BIG AND SMALL iN HELPING OTHERS. PRINCIPLES OF SHARING
- 10. Open doors to young people from our village.
- 11. “We help each other, rather than blame one another.”
- 13. Reciprocity
- 15. Ethics even in selling
- 16. GIVING BACK = HELPING ANOTHER STRUGGLING SMALL ENTERPRISE RECIPROCITY
- 17. PROVIDENCE “PROVIDENTIAL FOR US TO SEEK CREDIT IN TIME.”
- 18. Size does not matter if we want to live according to the model of an entrepreneur of communion.
- 19. PRIMAVERA
Editor's Notes
- The story of Primavera, an EOC enterprise.
- Good morning fellow entrepreneurs of communion. My name is Chester Lastica and I came from the Philippines.
- I am married and have two grown daughters. We started as a poor family that could hardly make both ends meet for our monthly budget.
- I was working then in an appliance manufacturing company for 15 years till the company, in order to survive economic difficulties decided to offer early retirement. In order to give way to a colleague who had a larger family and greater need of the job, I chose to be the one to take the retirement. It mean I had to transfer my children who were then studying in a private school to a public school in our city, and considered being separated from them as I was thinking of returning to the countryside to farm. It was 5 hours ride from the city and 2 hours walk to reach my destination at a remote rural farm land. This place of farm land was inherited by my wife and we opted to plant black pepper.
- But before I could settle down in the barrio, my wife told me that an opportunity arose when a school was built alongside our small store in the city, giving us the possibility to turn it into a small canteen to sell food and school supplies to the students. It was in this way that our small adventure in entrepreneurship begun in the mid 80’s.
- In 1991, when Chiara Lubich launched the Economy of Communion, we were inspired to view even our micro-enterprise as a part of the EOC, that entrepreneurship could be a vocation. We asked Chiara to give our small store a name and she gave us “PRIMAVERA” meaning springtime, telling us, “I am with you in making it a concrete expression of God’s love for each person who enters it.”
- One of the things we understood and tried to put into practice is the culture of giving and sharing that characterizes an EOC enterprise. As a start, we saw a small vacant space in our store and thought of renting it out to a friend who has a copier machine. This monthly rental, we set aside as contribution for the EOC because what we were earning in our store then was just enough for our family’s needs.
- I also thought about other ways to earn extra income to be able to share – like walking or pedaling my bicycle to market, instead of taking a public ride. And putting the amount I saved for EOC.
- Another opportunity was requiring a small deposit from our customers (50 centavos) so they would return their dishes, soft drinks bottles, utensils in the right place. If they were cooperative, we would return the deposit. And if they were too lazy, we would collect the used dishes and set aside the “earned” deposit, also to put in common for the needs of others. This way of being attentive to opportunities to earn extra income, no matter how small, so that we might have something to share, also rubbed off my daughters. One of them would sell quail eggs in school. They both collected aluminum cans which could be recycled and sold in junk shops, not being ashamed to be seen by their classmates carrying a big bag to put these cans into. They did this in order to help meet the cost of activities they had with other young people, or to share with those with greater need.
- As we grow in our activities in the store, we needed to get extra help. We saw this as chance to open our doors to young people from our village in the countryside, so that they could do some work and earn something to help them continue their schooling.
- And as they worked with us, we treated everyone as family and tried to also impart skills and values to them that would help them become responsible citizens after graduating from schools, while being also formed about the meaning of an economy based on communion and culture of giving. We adapted a slogan that says: “Mag-tulungan, huwag magsisihan.” Which translates to: “We help each other, rather than blame one another.”
- In the span of 24 years, around 20 young people became part of our family in Primavera, at one time or another.. We taught them the value of hard work and how to spot opportunities to earn extra income – making and selling candies, refreshments and things like that. One learned how to cook and is now confident wife and mother.
- Another joined an advertising agency and though she holds a position of responsibility still lives with us and helps us make flavored ice candies, aware that this activities help other young people like her. With her help, her younger sister will be finishing her college degree next school year. But what was more beautiful is her being able to “pay it forward” or reciprocate the help extended to her by helping another. Now her parents also opened a small store and they are now helping some poor relatives send their children to school. Another helper, after finishing her college degree in business administration, became regular employee of a manufacturing concern. But feeling attracted to the beauty of this kind of life, this kind of living a different kind of economy, she decided to consecrate her life to the spreading of this Ideal.
- Still one became professional teacher, another an entrepreneur and one became a production supervisor in a micro-chips company. Of the boys, one became an electrician, another an automotive technician and still another, a licensed driver. By now we have a new comer whose dream is to be a flight stewardess.
- In our small store, we were also able to practice the choice of selling only ethically-acceptable products, things that would be useful to the schoolchildren and not those that would be harmful like cigarettes, beer, etc. – which our competitors sold because there is money in these fast selling products. We were honest in giving the extra change back to customers, even if there are those who do not really take notice of what is given back to them, especially if it’s small change in coins. In return because of this reputation for honesty, our suppliers and creditors gave us extra time to settle payments during moments we encounter difficulties, extending their understanding of our situations
- Once the EOC commission members helped a struggling enterprise for a start-up production of noodles. Because I knew this entrepreneur and lived closer to her, I committed to help monitor the project, meeting with her almost weekly, together with another commission member, patiently trying to guide her how to make her enterprise earn. Though we spent much time and effort, maybe almost a year or two, in trying to help this enterprise, it became more complicated and in the end, had to close anyway, But what matters is that I saw an opportunity also to be able to give back to the generosity I had received from others, by offering this kind of support.
- Having a banker as a member of the commission was providential for us to seek credit in time when the hospitalization cost of my wife was almost eating our capital. Slowly, through the years, we were eventually able to settle the loan and still able to continue our modest enterprise because not all the capital was eaten away.
- Truly, size does not matter if we want to live according to the model of an entrepreneur of communion. Even a microentrepreneur can become an entreprenuer of communion.
- Primavera strives to live according to the principles of sharing, reciprocity, customer service and respect for ethics. And like any other company of EOC we have also experience and received much from Divine Providence as well. My being united with you today is but a living example of Divine Providence.