Sylvia Pendon: 2011 TOFIL Awardee for Entrepreneurship

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Category: Pinoy Entrepreneurs

Mrs. SYLVIA D. PENDON. Born in 1926 in Bauang, La Union, Mrs. Pendon grew up knowing that health and nutrition are the cornerstone of a full life and that women can and should empower themselves. After finishing high school, she took up home economics at the Far Eastern University before proceeding to other courses that would equip her in her chosen advocacy.

In the 1950s, Mrs. Pendon moved to Manila to teach at the Manila High School. At the time, handicrafts as a subject was something home economics teachers avoided because of the lack of teaching guides. Instead of going with the flow, Mrs. Pendon tried to fill the gap. Not only did she teach handicrafts, she opened up her own shop with her self-supporting students in her night class as employees.

The venture soon grew. It became a pioneer in using indigenous products, such as cogon grass and sinamay flowers, to produce fiber crafts, slippers, place mats, and bags, all of which competed in the export market.

Then came the recognition. Aside from the Teacher of the Year award from the Division of City Schools Manila, she also bagged a Fiber Craftsman Award and Product Design Award from the National Cottage Industries Development Authority, and the prestigious Panday Pira Award.

Today, Mrs. Pendon is best known for being the mother of the organic food movement in Palawan, to where the couple moved and settled down. From fruits and vegetables, she had ventured into organic fruit vinegar products, medicinal herbs, and even naturally grown Sasso chicken. She remains an advocate of composting, vermiculture, and other natural practices.

When she’s not busy farming and running her business, this prolific author trains young ladies, single mothers, and people from Palawan’s indigenous communities in mushroom culture and organic vinegar production, providing stay-at-home mothers extra income.

At 85, this enterprising pioneer still tirelessly helps generations of Filipinos. In her case, a healthy body transcends the biological. Hers is also a healthy, generous soul.

(Sylvia D. Pendon is the awardee for Entrepreneurship in The Outstanding Filipinos (TOFil) Awards 2011. This is the TOFIL's official writeup for Mrs. Pendon. The other 2011 awardees are: Dr. Jesus Estanislao for Governance; Jose Pardo for Business; Dr. Ramon Nery for Government and Public Service; and Dr. Emerlinda Roman for Education. President Benigno S. Aquino III led the awarding ceremonies at the the Heroes Hall of Malacañang Palace on 12 January 2012.)