Jagna egg-noodles, now Hatch into ‘nutri-pancit’

CANJULAO, Jagna, Bohol, October 18 (PIA)—It comes out in rather weird colors: malunggay (horseradish) green, squash yellow, camote top purple, but for all these, it is basically dried pancit (noodle) similar to your regular canton.
From there, all the similarities end. And then comes the big difference.
Yaning’s Pancit used to be your ordinary neighborhood egg noodles.
Produced from a kitchen backroom in this bustling town, the egg noodles industry now has its own common service facility, but that is getting ahead of the story.
Its manufacturers: a family toiled through years to earn and send their kids through college. And to make both ends meet. When the going gets tough, they produce a little bit more to get enough for the spending needs after the matriculation.
For extra hands, this family hires their jobless neighbors.
And as quickly did the neighbors learn egg-noodling the hard way, the faster they were also dipped into the groove in the food production job.
That started a little livelihood that would soon grow and attract more and more Jagna residents who see the healthy promise getting money for food and other needs.
All of that, thanks to a lady named Yaning.
Living from making egg-noodles, Yaning and her husband got into the business, as loyal as clockwork. The neighbors, then two or three, pitched in for the extra hands. Through the years.
With all Yaning’s kids finishing college, all from the egg-noodles that they are selling, it was not hard for the neighbors to get into the production.
Before Yaning died, she left the business to the neighbors.
Not any longer, from the basic egg noodles hatched to greatness of the new nutri-pancit, through the introduction of innovation.
“You know pancit has a certain come-on to the kids. We see that, as an opportunity to put in the blend some nutritious ingredients. These are usually the ones parents would find it hard to make their kids eat,” says Dominiciana Jamora, the animated operations manager as she is in her high stool perch, hands gesturing loosely, details the hardships they have to surmount to get where they are now.
“It is more of providing alternatives to parents who have a hard time convincing their kids to eat nutritious food,” Jamora added, information spilling from her in a steady stream of words and hand gestures.
Data from the Provincial Nutrition Council showed that Bohol kids are still threatened by malnutrition.
“The witty blending of naturally nutritious ingredients to the noodles could be a good start in solving some problems,” although slowly, PNC members admit.
“They are eating, not really caring about what they are getting as long as it is pancit,” Jamora said triumph in her voice.
A resident of Tubod Monte, Jamora, 57 manages the noodle production from their Common Service Facility (CSF) built by Jagna for the use of the association of local noodle makers.
She, along with women leaders of small, micro and medium enterprises under the Jagna Sustainable Micro Enterprises Development (JaSMED) met at a newly constructed Common Service Facility (CSF) for tableya, the native chocolates which the town also produces after their world renowned calamay, here in a hilltop plant overlooking the barangay and the town center with the blue Mindanao Sea in the distance.
“Among the JaSMED-assisted products is Yaning’s Pancit,” discloses JaSMED Unit head Marilou Naldoza, who has kept close tabs on the 16 micro, small and medium enterprises that the local government unit of Jagna and with the assistance of government agencies, have been producing mostly food products.
Two members of the JaSMED however chose to be in candle and in rags products development.
As to the nutria-pancit, Jamora, who has since led the egg-noodle-now-nutri-pancit business is on to more innovations to make their product a channel for income to her 76 members.
We are now tryiong to help solve at least three problems: malnutrition, family incomes and sending our members to school.
One of their members, Jamora shared, used to work on the calamay industry, as a cardboard box to keep her clothes.
Now, she said she has a good cabinet for her to keep her clothes in her room.
“Most of our members are out of school youth and students by day, noodle factory workers at night, she pointed out,” as she squirms and twists on the high stool she was perched during the causal talk.
Her excitement betrayed her as much as her animated responses to the questions showed.
“We have to continue with the noodles [factory], this has become livelihood for our people and in turn serves the town,” she shared.
The business has also helped not just for making sure people have money, it has also helped their young members finish their studies.
“From this, four of our members have finished college: a seaman, a police man and two teachers,” Jamora, grinning from ear to ear, revealed.
“We thought there’s more to just being egg-noodles, so with the help of the Department of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Agrarian Reform, Trade and Industry and the LGU, we blended squash, malunggay, camote tops and just anything nutritious that can be put in, anything that mothers can use to give their kids the proper nutrition they would need at their ages,” she said in Cebuano.
The green noodles are malunggay, the golden yellow is squash and the purple-violet is camote tops, Jamora illustrated.
And since egg-noodling has become a livelihood to some community members, the LGU and several government agencies pooled resources to put up a CSF, to make sure that there is an established standard for the way things have to be made to keep the Jagna brand, Naldoza explained.
Of all Bohol towns, not many have set up their MSMEs like Jagna, Naldoza added.
For the nutri-pancit, the coop manager said they are now producing 144 packs of 250 grams daily, this would be sold at P45.00, and the sales is starting to increase.
The increase is even noted despite the fact that Jamora’s group is still processing their Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) registration.
We are getting many orders, some as far as Davao, but until we can get the FDA certification, we might just keep the production, she said.
Jagna nutri-noodles rank among the leading products of the town; the biggest being calamay, tablea, cookies, and noodles. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

Jagnanutri-noodles are among the products on display by members of Jagna Sustainable Micro Enterprises Development (JaSMED). The noodles, which uses nutritious food as among its additives are either from malunggay, squash, carrots and camote tops.

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