Maximizing carport use for vegetable, fruit biz

HEALTHY BUSINESS. Theresa Golbete, the 20-year-old daughter of farmer Mariano Golbete, shows some of the fresh fruits harvested from their small farm. The Golbete family sells fruit and vegetable products at a carport in Cotabato City to make both ends meet at this time of the pandemic. (Photo by PNA Cotabato)

COTABATO CITY – Fresh fruits and vegetables sold directly at the family carport?

Yes, there is one here. A small carport selling vegetables, fruits, and other farm products at a subdivision here has been enticing both motorists and neighbors, especially that the goods are cheap and freshly-harvested from a family farm.

Mariano Golbete, 55, a homeowner at Vilo Subdivision, said the thought of selling vegetables harvested from his two-hectare farm in nearby Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, came after seeing neighbors taking risks of going to nearby markets just to buy vegetables and other produce for their daily needs.

This led him to open a small carport for vegetables and fruits that would start selling between 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

“The main thing here is keeping our neighborhood safe from coronavirus disease 2019 and earning little at the same time,” Golbete said of his new-found business.

Amid the pandemic, Golbete sees an increasing demand for vegetables and fruits from a populace yearning for healthy foods, particularly those living in the city.

“People are more concerned now about their health. They look for fresh vegetables and fruits to boost their immune system,” he said.

Variety of vegetables, fruits

Golbete sells common vegetables such as sayote (chayote), upo (bottle gourd), malunggay (moringa), ampalaya (bitter melon), pechay (Chinese cabbage), kangkong (water spinach), alugbati (Malabar spinach), and puso ng saging (banana blossom), among others.

For fruits, the “suki” or regular customers could select on orders of durian, banana, and avocado.

Popular root crops such as camote, singkamas (Jicama), carrots, and cassava are also available.

Golbete said he sells his farm produce at reasonable prices considering the bulk of his customers are neighbors.

“I know my neighbors for a long time, and just like them we understand and know each other’s standing in life,” he said.

Vegetables now, pay later

Since they belong to the same neighborhood, Golbete said he allow his neighbors a short-term “utang” for his vegetable and fruit products that are payable during the 15th and 30th day of the month.

“It’s pay-day during those times so I considerately ask them to pay off their debts first before availing of my farm products,” he said.

So far, he said his neighbors pay their debts on time.

“What are neighbors for if I don’t give them that little trust?” he said with a smile.

Family business

With most of them at the house due to the continuing threat of the pandemic, Golbete said his vegetable and fruit selling has become a family business of sort.

Golbete said aside from his wife Beth, he gets help from his only daughter, the youngest in the brood of three, since his sons are now married and working in Luzon and the Visayas.

“They have their own families to attend to but I hope to see them as soon as this pandemic end,” he said.

Golbete and his wife said their 20-year-old daughter Theresa gives them that hope to go on amid the pandemic, as the latter would always assure them that everything will be alright with God at the center of their family.

“With our small vegetable and fruit business, we also learned that family members that work together, stay healthy together,” Theresa said, adding that unsold vegetables are cooked at home to avoid waste.

The Golbetes said they are earning enough daily “to make both ends meet” in their newly-discovered business, on top of the healthy meals that the fruits and vegetables have brought to their table.