Weaving Dreams at Dream Nature Farm

by A.R. Alinios and K.C. Halili

“No amount of money can replace quality time spent with family,” says Mrs. Rosel Buban as she reflects on her husband’s almost 10-year experience as an Overseas Filipino Worker. With the goal to spend quality family time together, her husband moved back home and they decided to start and develop their own business.

Rosel and her husband utilized their financial resources and the 3.5-hectare land located at Brgy. Dingin, Pagsanjan, Laguna to jumpstart their dream farm. At first, they grew fruit-bearing trees such as rambutan, lanzones, guyabano, banana, and dalandan. Then, it was followed by raising livestock such as pigs, ducks, and goats. However, these ventures barely made profits. Though things did not go according to plan, Rosel and her husband did not lose hope and they exerted more efforts in finding ways to transform the land into a profitable business.

Dream Nature Farm, which is focused on dairy farming, was officially registered in 2017. This step opened new doors of opportunities for Rosel and her business. She was selected to be a mentee of the Kapatid Mentor Me (KMME) Program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Laguna. KMME is a development program that subject mentees to various business concepts and develop the acumen needed in scaling up and sustaining an enterprise.

“Being part of KMME is amazing,” Rosel said. “Through the program, I was able to attend series of seminars for free. I appreciate our mentors who taught us the different aspects of business operations. With this opportunity, I was able to fully understand the importance of sufficient knowledge and technical know-how in managing a business,” she added.

Through the mentoring assistance given by DTI Laguna, Dream Nature Farm has surely developed. However, challenges came along its way when the COVID-19 pandemic started. When business establishments stopped operating temporarily due to community quarantine, their market became limited to almost none. Nevertheless, Rosel viewed this trial as an opportunity to innovate.

In 2021, Dream Nature Farm enrolled in DTI Laguna’s One Town, One Product (OTOP) Next Gen Program. In this program, significant improvement and innovation in the areas of quality, product development, design, packaging, standards compliance, marketability, production capability, brand development, and so on are being offered.

“I was amazed by the support of DTI Laguna to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). I received assistance in improving the packaging of my product from plastic tub to glass bottle. They also helped me register the brand ‘Dairy Deluxe’. Moreover, we were able to come up with value-added products such as ricotta cheese and yogurt in different flavors (i.e., plain, strawberry, blueberry, and mango). Lastly, they allowed me to market my products through established OTOP Hubs (stores) in Laguna,” Rosel said.
At present, the farm is an approved Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA) which showcases applicable agriculture technologies in partnership with the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI). With Rosel’s determination and the support of her family and different government

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