Hope blooms on floral arrangement training

By LAIMINH S. MABULAY, City Mayor's Office
June 5, 2011

CATBALOGAN CITY  –  For a long time now, the local floral trade has been limited to the selling of freshly cut stems. The business is usually at its peak season during the months of November, for the All Saint’s Day and All Soul’s Day; and in February for the Valentine’s Day, leaving the vendors with lean sales for the rest of the year. In order to fill this gap, the Ornamental Producers’ Cooperative requested the Local Government Unit (LGU) for a training so that they can diversify from mere growing and selling of flowers to floral arranging and design.

In response to this, the LGU’s City Cooperatives Office (CCO) conducted a Basic Training on Floral Arrangement last May 30 until June 1, 2011. It was expected that the training will enable the participants to repackage the products according to a variety of occasions and depending on the preference of their clients. Having this skill is likely to create more demand for their business throughout the year instead of them being solely dependent on the two aforementioned occasions.

All three sessions were conducted in the afternoon with the first day having been reserved for lectures mainly on the history of floral arrangement and the different basic designs and themes, which were presented by Coop Extension Worker Designate John Ric Tan. The potential of flower arrangement as a business venture was discussed by Training Coordinator Designate Merle B. Muñoz. She also talked on the importance of having the right attitudes and values on the second day.

The participants had a workshop on the second day, wherein they were told to apply the design principles that they learned. They were made to create two arrangements each for free style, funerals, weddings and Valentine’s Day. The best among the finished designs were then selected by an invited panel of judges, which included City Information Officer Hannia Ayllon-Tan, Mr. Nicasio Cinco; a resource person from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-Samar), and educator and seasoned events organizer Mr. Marvin Piczon, who gave practical tips on the latest trends in floral arranging based on his experience as an events organizer.

The third day was another lecture-filled day which began with topics on packaging and pricing and marketing as discussed by DTI representative Nicasio Cinco. Tan came back on this day to talk about proper waste disposal management. The Ornamental Producers’ Cooperative then received another encouragement when City Cooperatives Officer Vivencio Eslopor relayed about the financial assistance to be given to them by both the City Mayor Coefredo T. Uy and City Councilor Stephany Uy-Tan in the sum of 50, 000 pesos. Eslopor facilitated the ensuing discussions on how the money may be utilized to improve the cooperative’s business.