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7 The Sociology and Economics of Vegetable Production, 1946–1972
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Bisna and Stafin Olsim

One of Simion's protégés, Bisna Olsim, eventually surpassed all other vegetable traders of Buguias. Mrs. Olsim was born to a poor couple and was fatherless from an early age. In 1956 she married into a relatively well-off family, but her husband, Stafin Olsim, sojourned through the early years of their marriage as a gold miner in Mindanao. After learning the vegetable trade from Simion and others, Bisna established her own "buy and sell" business. She received some help from family members, who, by her own account, pitied her for being without a father or, temporarily, a husband. Stafin's uncle lent her a truck at favorable rates, and other relatives provided vegetables to her on consignment.

By the time her husband returned, Bisna had saved a respectable sum and had purchased, on credit, a large truck. This proved to be a timely investment; as the FACOMAs collapsed, new opportunities arose for local transporters. Between 1965 and 1970 the Olsims' ascent was meteoric. Soon they needed better market access, which they attained by purchasing property and building a house and storage facility in Trinidad. Twice a week they would now make the six- to eight-hour drive to Buguias to buy vegetables, returning to Trinidad the following day.

By the mid-1970s the Olsims began to ease out of the vegetable trade and to experiment with new lines of business. Several endeavors were not successful. For a number of years they owned and managed a bus company, but the high cost of repairs and the formidable competition from Dangwa Tranco proved discouraging. Similarly, a supply store in Buguias could not compete against the


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independent traders and the large supply stores of Bad-ayan and Abatan. But the Olsims' other dealings have more than compensated for these losses. Several land investments in Trinidad proved quite remunerative, and by the 1980s a road contracting business brought excellent returns. They are now fully established as the one truly wealthy family of Buguias—an identity they cultivate despite spending most of their time in the provincial capital.

The other Buguias vegetable traders were less fortunate. Although several attained prosperity, few have approached, and none has maintained, true baknang status. Several suffered business calamities, commonly the loss of a truck or two over a Mountain Trail precipice. Another followed the Olsims in running a bus company, but two disastrous crashes in the 1980s brought financial ruin. Several found misadventure in gambling, usually in the Baguio casino.

Ritual practice has been a two-edged sword in the rise and fall of prominent Buguias families. In one story, often repeated by Buguias Christians, a certain trader's decline appears to have been accelerated by ritual; after each setback he conducted elaborate propitiatory rites, which further consumed his dwindling resources. Those who practice the traditional religion, however, counter by pointing to other instances where a family's imminent downfall was averted, they say, precisely by staging the proper ceremonies.


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