Amparo Riyo, "Paring" to her neighborhood and friends, is a simple housewife who dreamed of becoming a successful food entrepreneur. She is married to Danilo, fondly called Danny, who passionately help in the business when he doesn't have work as truck driver. They are gifted with 3 children, one female and two males. One of their sons is already working. He generously contributes to their daily expenses.Amparo started the eatery business in a small, old, dilapidated, messy and unsanitary kitchen adjacent to their house. As Paring once said, "hindi ako makatrabaho ng maayos kasi kalat-kalat ang mga gamit, mahirap linisin kasi luma na ang mga materyales at pag umuulan lumilihis lang sa hindi tumutulo para makaluto" (I can't work efficiently because the kitchen is not well-designed. The old kitchen is difficult to clean and when it rains I just find dry place to cook). The kitchen is made of corrugated G.I. Sheet walling and roofing, second-hand wood trusses and roughly finished flooring which oftentimes remain muddled despite of Paring's effort to clean and organize things. The countertops and sink are made of wood frame which oftentimes are wet and messy which makes it ideal for the breeding of bacteria, rats, cockroaches and germs.

Paring & Danny start the day early at 3:00 o'clock in the morning to purchase meat, fish and vegetables and other ingredients in the wet market. They return home at 5:00 o'clock in the morning. They spend PhP75 for transportation. Danny washes and cuts the food ingredients while Paring prepares the cooking utensils and starts cooking in the kerosene cookstove. They usually end up late in the evening running the business 12-14 hours a day.

The couple in their desire to earn a living honestly, made use of their skill and passion for cooking. They adapted to the conditions of their kitchen. It did not bother them how it looks. They did not even mind the discomfort in the limited kitchen space.

Paring uses kerosene and LPG as cooking fuel. In one month, Paring consumes 6 11-kg tank of LPG amounting to PhP152.5 (2008) (3.74USD) per day and up to 3 liters of kerosene per day amounting to PhP47 (around 1USD) per liter or a total of PhP141 (3.5USD) per day. This total cost on cooking energy eats up more than 30% of Amparo's daily revolving capital.

In the old kitchen while cooking, Paring and Danny are exposed to an average of 34.82ppm of carbon monoxide and 19610 ug/m3 of Particulate Matter (PM) concentration during the entire working hours based on the results of the measurement of Approtech Asia's Project Coordinator Claud Jan Marquez using HOBO and UCB Monitor. The pollution level is high which makes it detrimental to their health based on the WHO recommended standard for indoor air quality of 9 ppm and 25 ug/m3 for CO and PM, respectively.

Based on earier studies conducted by Approtech Asia among the Food Micro-Entrepreneurs (FMEs) in Quezon City, Paring was one of the respondents whose kitchen needs to be improved. She was invited to join the two-day appreciation course on Food Hygiene and Sanitation as well as in other capability-building activities, such as, Record Keeping and Recording, Food Business Management and Business Planning, and Meal Planning and Food Processing, among others. At first, she was skeptical to join. She argues, saying "depende, kung kapaki-pakinabang sa akin, dadalo ako" (It depends, If it is useful for me, I'll join). This reaction is common among FMEs, like Paring, because they devote every minute of their time in the business. Their food on the table at the end of the day and the working capital for the following day depends on what they earn today. Hence, When Paring heard of Approtech Asia's Project, out of curiosity, she joined the training expecting that she will benefit from the training. She liked what she learned on the first day. Unfortunately, she did not return the following because she has to attend to her food business which she cannot totally leave to her husband Danny or they will starve.

For weeks and months Paring regrets that she did not complete the training activities. She has been thinking what would have improved in her business had she joined the project activities. When she learned of Approtech Asia's new project on kitchen improvement and micro-finance for individual FMEs with land or space counterpart, she regained her hopes. Danny's initial reaction was one of hesitation because he thought the project will require substantial financial investment on their part which may not be affordable.

Despite the doubts and fears, Danny & Paring voluntarily went through an orientation and one-on-one briefing regarding kitchen design and financing assistance with Approtech Asia's Administrative and Technical Staff. After the friendly discussion, the couple realized the benefits and convenience they could get from the kitchen improvement project. The couple and children unanimously and collectively decided to have their kitchen improved.

The planning session with regards to the kitchen design, materials and stages of construction based on their capacity to pay was conducted with Approtech Asia Project Team member Engineer Elizer Banares.. (Photo shows Engr. Banares and Danny planning the kitchen design, layout and materials.)

While the construction is on-going the eatery business is in operation. Paring takes care of the business while Danny supervises the construction workers together with the technical expert of Approtech Asia to make sure that the kitchen is built as planned.

The kitchen improvement is constructed phase by phase. The first to be constructed is the sink and the stand for the cookstove, hood and chimney. Two (2) units of Mabaga Kalan, a heat-efficient charcoal cookstove, were provided in the kitchen.

To reduce the pollution from burning charcoal and woodfuel inside the new kitchen, a hood and chimney was constructed. Paring and Danny are thankful for the savings realized in shifting from kerosene to woodfuel. The scrap wood is collected free from their neighborhood and junkshop. Because of the kitchen hood and chimney, the PM concentration is reduced by 35.32 percent from 19,610 ug/m3 to 11,950 ug/m3 while the CO is reduced by 39.06 percent, from 34.82ppm to 22.52ppm.

Paring now cooks faster with her new cook stove while she saves around 50 percent on cooking energy. The ergonomically-designed kitchen makes Paring cook and work efficiently. She can now manage the eatery alone when Danny is engaged in their new junkshop venture. The kitchen appears cleaner and more organized compared before. The countertop is made of tiles and the sink is stainless. The cabinets for eating and cooking utensils are installed above and below the sink, respectively. The floor is made of concrete cement which will be tiled in the next phase of the construction, 39.06 percent, which is currently on-going.

As a beneficiary of APPROTECH Asia, the couple found the opportunity to network with FMEs and other major stakeholders in food business, share experiences, specialty recipes and business tips not only in their present eatery but also on other income-generating activities. The couple enjoys attending seminars, training activities and get-together parties with other FMEs. It is the time for celebration, away from the daily routine, but expanding the social circle and understanding the world of business competition and sustainability.

Danny speaks with confidence in front of guests, resource persons and fellow FMEs when given the chance to brag about their achievement in life and livelihood. He shares their life story and business success before and after Approtech Asia's technology and finance intervention. He inspires FMEs to realize their dreams by finding the right and knowledgeable partner with sincere intentions and become responsible in paying to hold on to their good moral character as their only viable collateral in times of financial need. He is very eager to share his honest opinion about the project when the evaluators and Approtech Asia staff visit them to monitor and evaluate the project. Approtech Asia regularly visit the beneficiaties to document the behavioral changes and new, innovative business practices of FMEs to further improve the approach and methodology used in implementing the project.

When asked what they can suggest to Approtech Asia to make the services better and more responsive to the needs of FMEs, Danny and Paring suggested that Approtech Asia should facilitate FMEs' medical and accident insurance and provide for emergency loan assistance for immediate financial need or requirement that is not related to their food business for timely assistance so that their working capital will not be affected.

Approtech Asia, according to Paring, is different from other micro-finance NGOs because it does not only provide financial assistance and collect payments but it also monitors and provide training as well as one-on-one mentoring in the improvement of the food business. There is no other institution that provides both the technology and financial assistance for kitchen improvement. Approtech Asia participates and strictly implements their policy of involving the kitchen owner and the technical team in the design, layout and construction of the kitchen.

The couple is granted the second loan amounting to PhP50,000 intended for the second phase of the food business, that is, converting the ground floor of their house into an eatery. As planned the couple would like to have a double story house. The first floor will be devoted for their eatery business where they can have the kitchen and the dining area for customers. The second floor will be their living area and bedrooms. With this plan, they could isolate their household activity from their eatery business.

To augment their income, the couple is now involved with trading of junk/scrap materials from construction and residential areas which gives them an extra income of from PhP1,000 to 3,000 pesos per transaction. They were introduced to this business by their eldest son. They look forward, in 2 to 3 years from now, to have a pick-up/multi-cab transport service for use in the delivery of Paring's native delicacies, such as, noodle-based seafood and meat with vegetables in woven bamboo basket (nakabilaong pansit,bihon,palabok) to customers as well as trucking for Danny's junkshop business.