The minimum wage in the Philippines is about 300 pesos per day (about 6 euros). Rebekka has been working in the matting industry for the last few years to generate some extra income for the family. Her husband earns a modest salary, but it is difficult to make ends meet for the family of four. Rebekka participated in the Start Your Business training with a positive attitude and a broad smile. She worked very diligently on the exercises with all the financial calculations. Assignment 31 is to calculate profit and loss. She had completed the previous 30 assignments, including Fixed and Variable Costs and other financial concepts. She looked at the end result with anticipation. Suddenly the expression on her face changed and she started to cry. When asked what was going on, she answered softly with disappointment in her voice. The assignments had given her the insight that she had earned about 390 pesos (almost 8 euros) per month in recent years! She was horrified that she had worked so hard for so little!
Rebekka and her trainers came up with an alternative. By offering other products with a higher profit margin, such as potholders and doormats, in addition to her regular woven mats. She was now able to generate a considerably higher income.
The photos show Rebekka’s modest house; about 5 square meters. When asked what had changed for Rebekah since the training, she was delighted that she no longer had to borrow from the ‘wage sharks’ (20% interest per month), because of what she learned in the training. She had a positive cash flow and she was now earning more than before training. She would like to have electricity installed in her house in the coming months. She still uses the sewing machine she owns manually. But it has a motor in it, so that when she has electricity, she can run the machine at a much higher production!
