Four women and the role of "Kulapu"in their lives -- Part 3 / Maria Salvacion R. Ferrer

Mrs. Vivian Morecho, 55 years old, married, and a mother of three professionals, is a native of San Jose, Northern Samar. Ma’am Vivian is the representative of the private sector – trader. She is a full-time business woman selling different marine products (e.g., octopus, sandfish, seaweed) and operating a catering service. “Kulapu” made her famous in many coastal municipalities of Northern Samar, such as Bobon, Biri, San Jose, Lavezares, and San Isidro. She is known as the sole buyer of “kulapu” in the Northern Samar since 2012 but stopped when FAO 250 was enforced. According to her, people were not that aware of the importance of “kulapu” or its commercial values until jeepney passengers in Barangay Geratag in San Jose noticed aquatic plants being dried along the street side with a strong foul odor. This started their curiosity until they learned that this seaweed was being sold at PhP5.00 per kilo, dry weight then. Ma’am Vivian, as her suppliers fondly call her, shared that the first gatherers were actually children with ages ranging from 6 years old to 15 years old. They sold her around 100 kg of wet “kulapu.” The fathers learned about it, and they themselves gathered “kulapu” from the wild, dried them, and sold to her. She said that they have bigger earning of PhP500 a day compared to pedicab driving or copra making, which earned them not more than PhP300 per day.

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