Luming's Craft is a subcontracting company that specializes in home furnishings. Their best seller includes stone in-lay or marble- in-lay tables, lamps or chairs and their buyers from Manila and Cebu have consistently been with them for over ten (10) years now, a feat worthy of pride and joy. At the turn of the century, Luming's Craft shall have participated in the National Trade Fair 2000 (NTF), a first time- involvement which the owners are both overwhelmed and excited about. Dioscora "Coring" Berame, 44 and husband Salomeo "Luming" Berame have both attended to Luming's Craft as a business enterprise with a lot of risk and experimentation. "Sus, day. Nalipay na lang gani gyud ko nga niabot mi niani nga kahimtang. Wala gyud namo damha nga maingon niani ang among pagnegosyo", Coring gushed. ("We are happy that we have reached this stage with the business. We have never expected that we will be able to manage it well.") Indeed, if we were to tell the story behind Luming's Craft, it is like the themes aired in common soap operas. But it certainly has a happy ending…

        Coring and Luming married young. Both have not finished high school education due to financial constraints. Coring, who acts as the Marketing Manager of Luming's Craft came from an experience, which she recalls as "makahilak gyud ko." (I always get teary-eyed.) When Coring was thirteen, her mother succumbed to illness and died a few months after giving birth to Coring's youngest sister. A few months after, it was unfortunate that Coring's father abandoned them for another woman. Being the eldest of eight (8) children, Coring vowed to take responsibility in caring for her younger siblings including a baby sister. So, at the young age of thirteen, she quit school and worked as a rope weaver and was paid with twenty centavos (Php 0.20) per day. She always made it a point that rice is available at home, which costs thirty five centavos (Php 0.35) back then. Occasionally, she cooked rice and cassava cakes to augment income. She also applied division of labor in the family for domestic work. Through the years, Coring took care of her brood in a small hut in Marigondon, Cebu.

         Coring prevented other relatives from taking care of her younger siblings for fear of being totally separated from them. "Ako gyung pangandoy nga dili gyud mi magkabuwag mao nang naningkamot gyud ko og buhi sa akong mga igsoon," she stressed. (It was my dream that we continue to be together, so I worked hard so I could raise them.") She sent her younger siblings to school while she attended to the family. "Maayo na lang nang ang akong mga igsoon ang maka-eskwela kay sa wala gyud sa among pamilya," she sighed. (It is good enough that in the family, my brothers and sisters finish school.") Through the years, Coring's sisters and brothers became professionals. Some were teachers and others were attending to businesses of their own. Others took to farming. When Coring turned twenty four, she met Luming who also dropped out of school and was also attending to some business at that time. While married, Coring continued attending to her immediate family.

          In 1975, the Berame couple moved to Lapulapu City and decided to embark on the packaging business, by recycling and selling boxes at twenty centavos (Php 0.20) per piece. The usual quota is to sell a thousand pieces per day to generate enough for the family. For seven years, Coring and Luming pursued with this unrewarding venture. "Kapoy kaayo, uy. Nabughat gud ko niadto kay ako pa ang mangita og mga karton unya bug-at kaayo," she said. ("It was tiresome. I even had postpartum problems because I had to look for boxes and these are so heavy.")

         In 1979, despite financial constraints, Coring managed to buy back her mother's jewelry which consisted of 2 necklaces, 2 rings and a set of earrings at Php 1,600.00. "Ako gyud ning giantusan sukad pa kaniadto hangtud nga ako ra gyung nalukat," she uttered. ("I have paid for the interest for many years, and finally, I have my mother's jewelry back.") All this time, the couple was renting a small house with a 10 X 8 floor area at Php 100.00 per month. "Sus, pagkagamay sa among balay kaniadto. Pwerte gyung gamaya. Nipa ang atop unya ang mga bongbong, mga karton ra sab," she smiled. (" Our house then was very small. The roof was made from nipa and the walls were made of boxes.")

          In 1982, a family friend named Lito introduced them to the craft of making jewelry boxes. With a capital of Php 300.00, the couple purchased a desk grinder worth Php 150.00 to slice and finish materials. The rest of the Php 150.00 was used to purchase materials like glue, sand paper, lerox, polylite and others. With the items bought, five (5) samples of jewelry boxes were produced and sold at Php 200.00 each. With the jewelry boxes sold in three days, the Berames had Php 1,000.00, making a profit of 50%. Coring recalls that with this, she paid back some Php 200.00 for the shells.

          The first set of five jewelry boxes glittered the couple's immediate future with a purchase order worth Php 10,000.00. With no ready capital, the Berame couple resorted to loans. "Daghan kaayo mig utang unya wala pa gyud mi maanad nga mangutang pero mapugos na lang. Pagkalisud sa among kahimtang kaniadto ilabi na nga nagsugod pa mi," she recalled. ("We had a lot of loans and we were not used to this situation but we have no other recourse. When we started with the business, we were in a tight situation.") The purchase orders kept coming and the loans also grew by as much as Php 50,000.00 or Php 100,000.00. One factor was the couple's inability to negotiate with their buyers regarding down payments. "Sa pagsugod, kuyaw kaayo nga mangutang. Pero, sa kadugayan, naanad na mi ug amo nang nasabtan ang negosyo." ("At the start, we were afraid to loan but along the way, we learned that we had to raise capital for the business.") In the same year 1982, the couple produced an average of 100 sets each week of small items such as picture frames, jewelry boxes made from shells, coral and stones. The couple started with a single buyer, Baron Arts Gift Items which is based in Mandaue City. In time, they dealt with ten (10) buyers, which included Ekei, Esther, Sea Jems and Luzviminda.

           In 1985, Coring chanced upon a training activity sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry- Cebu through Lurli Montes, a Business Development Officer (BDO) of a project called the Micro Cottage Business Linkage Project (MCBLP) funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Montes was impressed with Luming's Craft's quality. And with her guidance, Luming's Craft was registered with DTI-Cebu and became a target client of the MCBLP. In effect, the Berame couple attended trainings on Costing and Pricing, Bookkeeping and on How To Negotiate With Buyers. Since then, the Berames stood firm on getting at least a 10% or 20%- down payment of purchase orders. "Sa pagsugod, dili gyud ko kamao kung unsaon nako pagsulti. Mokurog gyud ko, pero ang sikreto naa man gyud diay sa atong pagpursige nga mo-down sila," she laughed. ("At first, I do not know how to negotiate with the buyers. I physically tremble but in the long run I realized that the secret is to let them know that we are firm in demanding for a down payment.") In 1989, with an initial capital of Php 80,000.00 the Berames constructed their first house within three (3) months.

          In 1992, Luming's Craft shifted to produce other items that included mirror frames, wall lamps, furniture accessories, stone-in-laid jars and table tops in-laid with stones or coco shells. Consistent buyers at this time included Victor Dan in Manila, Baron Arts, Tech Industries, Cebu Designs, Galeria Cebuana, Raphael Legacy and Phil Italia. Luming's Craft is able to produce between 2,000 pieces to 20,000 pieces per month, depending on the items. By 1997, the couple resorted to chequing accounts upon the advice of DTI- Cebu. "Daku kaayo kinig natabang ilabi na adunay mga orders nga tag- one week ang delay sa bayad," she stressed. ("This has been a great help especially because there are orders with one-week delayed payment.")

          Today, Luming's Craft is poised for the National Trade Fair Show (NTF) in February, 2000. It will be their first time and they are looking forward to this event. From a single worker in 1975, Luming's Craft has grown to accommodate a total of forty (40) workers who are paid per piece from Php 30.00 to Php 100.00. Coring would modestly say that the company is basically earning a net income of Php 15,000.00 per month. Financing for Luming's Craft is still a problem as the subcontracting company pegs its profit at about 20% but occasionally, they also accrue losses by as much as 50%. Although others believe that Luming's Craft has the potential of being an exporter, Coring vehemently denies this possibility. "Lisud na kaayo kay binayabas ra ba ning akong iningles," she replied. (That is difficult because I am not good with the English language.") On the other hand, the Berame children are poised to help their parents in meeting their dreams come true. Maria Felipa is currently taking up Education, Major in English so she will be able to assist her parents with negotiations. Elena is taking up Accountancy to help out with finances. And Raymund is bent on traveling abroad with a Marine course. Salome is in high school and Malcolm is in Grade 6. Luming's Craft works with ten (10) other subcontractors, who may be considered as competitors. But, as Coring puts it: "Sangko sa langit ang akong kalipay. Makahuman lang ang mga bata aron dili sila makaagi sa kalisud, kuntento na gyud ko kaayo." (My happiness is so great. As long as the children finish school, so they will not experience the same difficulties we have encountered, I am contented.")