thinking out of the box… what box?
ONE OF THE TOP TEN BUSINESS-WOMEN IN THE PHILIPPINES, MILLIE KILAYKO TALKS TO CLARENCE MANICAD ABOUT HER NEW PIAYA AND THE 12,000 JOBS CREATED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF NEGROS PRODUCRES
She is at it again. After explaining the process of making piaya, an unleavened sugary bread native to Negros, Millie Kilayko is on a roll. “I get bored easily, so I constantly have to do something new,” she says. In the midst of workers mixing, pinching and rolling dough and muscovado, Millie is excited about life’s limitless possibilities. Always thinking out of the box, it is quite apparent that for Millie, there was no box to begin with.
OUT OF THE COMFORT ZONE
Millie Kilayko is one of the original founders of the acclaimed Association of Negros Producers (ANP), a group of women who had risen from the fall-out of the sugar crisis in the early ’80s.
As you might expect, Millie has enjoyed an action-packed life. Nothing stops her from pursuing her ideas and ideals. To strengthen the group’s success, she has traveled the Philippines, down to the remote parts of Sulu and Tawi Tawi. She has flown on vintage Vietnam-war Huey choppers; ridden on rickety buses with snorting pigs and cackling hens; and even come face to face with typhoon Milenyo in her attempt to introduce to the world her latest take on the piaya.
SMASHING STEREOTYPES
The thing with stereotypes is that we either have to break them or work with them.
“This is my factory,” she says, pointing to what used to be a well-lit and airy terrace. “My bedroom is right above!” she laughs. The joke is not lost on her. There goes the image of a ruthlessly ambitious entrepreneur out to conquer the world. Why not something bigger?
“That’s the stereotype we’re trying to break,” she explains. The members of ANP are micro business owners, together responsible for 12,000 jobs in the region. When the sugar crisis hit, it touched everyone on a personal level. But the women of Bacolod responded by rolling up their sleeves – and they have been working ever since.
Best of all, they have managed to change the local mindset with the ultimate paradigm shift: not all that’s sweet is sugar.
FROM LITTLE ACORNS…
“It took a year to perfect my crisp piaya,” she says. That meant a whole lot of trials and errors, taste tests, and feedback courtesy of friends invited to dinner. Millie listened to all their comments; discarded the things that didn’t work and reconsidered her strategy – everything except give up.
The result was 200 boxes of crisp piayas that she brought with a bit of trepidation to the 21st Annual ANP Trade Fair at Rockwell, a venue considerably larger than the mall parking lot where they held their first trade fair. (Though a fitting start, considering most of the businesses represented began in garages.)
On the first day of this 2006 trade fair back in October, all Millie’s 200 boxes sold out and proved to be in such high demand that she had to ship more piayas from Bacolod.
And just when they were about to go back home, the super-typhoon Milenyo struck. But her gambit had already paid off. The only thing that inundated her were the orders. “You must align your business with your passion,” Millie says.
SPIRIT OF ALTRUISM
“Our first factory workers were the house helpers. We had to add more workers to meet the new demands brought about by the fair,” says Millie. And even though when interviewed the fair was some weeks ago, Millie moans that she can hardly keep up with the new orders.
However, she is quick to point out the benefits an organization like ANP offers. From raising capital to technology to production to marketing and even moral support, they help each other at every turn.
For example, Millie’s mentor for her pottery business was actually her competitor. Such altruism seems strange, even crazy. After all, business is supposed to be a dog-eat-dog world, right? But now, they sub-contract each other.
The result of this inter-dependency is most palpable at the ANP’s showroom in Bacolod City. Arguably, it is one of the cleanest, most impressive showrooms in this country. But what is most amazing is the audible buzz of ongoing business – people checking out colorful and varied merchandise, murmuring at each other, nodding. The place is alive!
Others, it seemed, were impervious to the idea of Millie owning a backyard business. “Millie, with a backyard business? C’mon now,” the ribbing was earnest. But I had seen it with my own eyes: Millie carrying and dropping off boxes. We visit her café on the way to the showroom and stop off to deliver a bouquet of orchids to a garden show. She even handed me boxes to carry, saying, “I know I’m not supposed to do this but…”
UBIQUITOUS
“Millie is everywhere,” China Gallaga, a friend and fellow member and former president of the ANP chuckles good-naturedly. But then, China could very well be describing herself.
I sit across China in her office chatting with her even as she constantly takes phone calls and follows up on tasks, speaking in that melodious Ilongga dialect. “Have some sugar, you can’t take black coffee without it in a place renowned for sugar,” she jokes.
These Bacolod women have a way of doing several things at the same time without making you feel neglected. Finally, I ask, “Are all Bacolod women this busy?”
And China laughs again. Laughter means yes. Millie shows me around her other businesses: a garden café with private nooks and tropical fish, a landscaping project in the works, a flower farm with rows and rows of orchids, reminiscent of flower farms in Holland, but with a leaf-strewn secret cove that is like stepping into a Van Gogh.
All the while we are travelling in her Ford SUV, amidst boxes of crisp piayas – crackling, wispy thin, yet full to the bite, their flavor exploding in your mouth.
Who designed the packages? “I did,” she quips. I ask why she would not prefer to have someone do that, so she can take care of other things.
“Are you kidding,” she cuts in, “that’s one of my favorite parts of the business!”
Millie conjures up ideas most of us would rather not bother with. Let’s face it, the original piaya, just like the wheel, is very close to perfection. Why bother to re-invent it?
But she’s comes up with a new version that is both worthy of its classification and capable of being compared favorably to the original. Still, she doesn’t stop there. Her subsequent question borders on the preposterous: “Isn’t there another use for the piaya other than for dessert?”
And before I can say “bookmark”, she presents a deck of sugarless piaya spread beautifully on a plate, surrounding a saucer of chicken inasal pate dip. I don’t wait for her to ask me to try it.
A BEACON FOR INNOVATION
“Millie is ahead of her time,” China had said. But her fast-forward approach has much to do with her past.
Her grandfather said a long time ago that a drop in sugar prices might do Bacolod some good. He was all for diversification. Just like Millie now, he saw limitless possibilities. He also taught Millie how to appreciate feedback. When, as a child, she made him a thank-you card for a well-appreciated gift, he raved about the card – and then gently pointed out that she misspelled “received”.
Seeing Millie in her spacious, lived-in home filled with memories, or in her family’s grand ancestral house which now serves as her pottery factory, complete with intricate wood-carved banisters, it is hard to tell whether she is a force of tradition or a beacon for innovation. There is much to say about her, her ideas and the ANP.
You should write all these in a book, I tell her. She says it is one of her dreams to do so one day, when she is able to take things slowly.
Then again, something always comes up. Millie has been known to move heaven and earth to realize her dreams, so maybe it’s just a matter of time.
You see, for all her busyness, her days start quietly, early in her garden, alone.
Millie’s CV
Sweet Greens Company
Business type: Partnership with Tima Lacson Established: 1990
Products: Orchids and ornamental plants
Details: Bought a ceramic factory in 1999. Opened a Garden Center in Bacolod City in 2003 that was originally envisioned to feature a little 16-seater cafe but which later expanded into a 60-seater with catering services
Employees: Farm – 12
Pottery – Low of 8 and high of 80, depending on orders Cafe and Garden Center, including outlets – 12
Location: Farm and Factory – Talisay City, Negros Occidental Cafe and Garden Center – Bacolod City Success: Expanded business and increased number of outlets and customers.
• Pottery got into the Hall of Fame in product excellence for houseware category in the ANP’s annual Bulawan Awards Competition (1999, 2000, 2001). Exports to Europe, Australia and USA. Supplies major stores/ chains in the Philippines.
• Farm – Products are sold direct, through some of the company-operated outlets in Bacolod City. Participates in Garden Shows all over the country. Buyers from other provinces also come to the farm.
Casa Carmela Kitchen
Business type: Single proprietorship
Established: 2005 Products: Baked items and processed food
Location: Lizares Avenue, Bacolod City (my home as well)
Employees: 12
Success: Overwhelming positive feedback and orders
Flavors of negros (trade name)
Timmi’s Kitchen (company name)
Established: Dec 2006
Location: Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City
Employees: 12
Nature of business: Food service specializing in delicacies of Bacolod and Negros Occidental Measure of Success: After less than a year of operations, demand for products and services necessitated the emergence of a catering service.
Other Undertakings:
Wedding Stylist
Landscape Artist
Marketing Consultant
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