One of the trainees, Zenaida Dela Cruz, who is now 92 years old, capitalized on her new skills and put up Patrocinio’s Arts, Gifts, and Decors. The business boomed, and through her initiative, several trainings were conducted, and many women benefited.

The venture was later renamed Flowerqueen by her daughter, Erlinda Chi.

“I think only 20 of them finished the seminar, and some did not continue because, at that time, there was no money in it; fossilized flower making was not so popular before,” Chi said.

Flowerqueen Enterprises and the Fossilized Flower Village are owned by Chi’s daughter, Maria Lynx Brenda Chi, who is working in Hong Kong.

The Fossilized Flower Village, located at Barangay Gamis in Saguday, has been helping women in the community by either employing them as flower makers or by buying their flower products, which they sell to different places in the country and even abroad.

“I tried to go to the mountains before but it is so hard to reach the place, but once you get there, feast your eyes with the abundant trees that supply twigs and branches for our fossilized flowers,” she said.

Aside from alibangbang, other leaves can be used, such as guyabano leaves, jackfruit leaves, and even mango and guava leaves.

“We use some chemicals to whiten the leaves, like hydrogen peroxide and caustic soda. Some buyers prefer a variety of colors, so we are making flowers of different colors,” Chi said.

After dying the leaves, they assemble the flowers using tissue paper and then wrap them with leaves (fossilized butterfly leaves) until they turn into a flower.

According to Chi, these products speak of the passion, patience, and creativity of Quirino women who venture into the fossilized flower business not only for their livelihood but to create stunning works of art that can attract more visitors to the province. 

“By buying these souvenir items, visitors will not only be taking home beautiful decorative pieces that will last for a long time, they will also be supporting the livelihood of Quirino women,” Chi added.

Chi thanked the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Tourism, the Philippine Information Agency, and other partner agencies for promoting the products at local and international trade fairs. Because of this, some fossilized flower makers are already exporting their products to Germany and the USA.

Aside from Flowerqueen, other fossilized flower makers have made their names in the industry, such as Maddela Flowers and Crafts, Aguas Fossilized Flowers, Joyce’s Gift Shop, and many more.

The fossilized flowers of Quirino province. (Photo: PIA)

Chi said competition among them is natural, but at the end of the day, they will end up sharing their products, especially if one of them fails to meet production deadlines.

“After all, we are all Quirinians who want to help our province in sustaining fossilized flowers as one of the One Town One products of Quirino,” Chi added.

Chi further said they are offering training for women who are new in business to help them improve the quality of their products.

“It’s a vocation that my mom Zenaida instilled in us—to share skills and love our craft by continuously developing new fossilized flower makers that would eventually continue the legacy that my mom started,” Chi said.

For interested organizations who want to venture into the fossilized flower-making business, Flowerqueen Enterprises is more than willing to help. It can be reached through its Facebook page. (OTB/TCB/PIA-2, QUIRINO)