Malolos is a place where nationhood and good food meet. The First Philippine Republic was inaugurated at the Barasoain Church on January 23, 1899. With it came a feast where among those served to guests was the Ensaymada, a soft-dough bread with sugar spread and salted egg on top. That banquet featured leaf art designs locally known as Puni.
๐ช๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐
In the 1990s, culinary historian Milagros Enriquez spearheaded the revival of heritage food or the Pamanang Kaluto. And to make the experience more authentic, she teamed up with Puni weaver Gigi Garcia in the preparation of the banquet table.
Gigi became the mother-in-law of Jonnah. She gave her a bouquet made of Puni as a wedding gift in 2013. Jonnah was impressed and asked Gigi to teach her how to weave so she could start making this a business.
โAt first, my mother-in-law was hesitant to train me because she knows the difficulty in weaving and the scarcity of raw materials,โ Gigi recalled.
Finally, Jonnah convinced her mother-in-law to train her to make Puni along with a new generation of women in Malolos including the late Nicanora Hernandez, who also became a popular tele-culinary historian and fellow heritage-advocate.
![](https://thevoicenewsweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Puni-Malolos-02A-1024x576.jpg)
![](https://thevoicenewsweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Puni-Malolos-02B-1024x634.jpg)
๐๐๐น๐น-๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฟ
Seeing the opportunity, Jonnah resigned from her job in a private company to become a full-time entrepreneur. โWe established Punique Handicraft. Initially, it attracted about 200 women who were trained to make Puni. Around 20 of them became full-time Punikeras,โ Jonnah said.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provided assistance to Jonnah by inviting her to participate in various trade fairs including the Likha ng Central Luzon at SM Megamall. She also became a mentee and eventually a mentor in DTIโs Kapatid Mentor Me Program.
โPunique Handicraft also became part of the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Next Generation Program wherein DTI assisted us in intellectual property registration and improvement of our packaging and labeling,โ Jonnah furthered.
Puni products were likewise exported in various areas worldwide including Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, and the United States through the help of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions.
![](https://thevoicenewsweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Puni-Malolos-02C-1024x576.jpg)
![](https://thevoicenewsweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Puni-Malolos-02D-1024x634.jpg)
๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐
DTI OIC-Assistant Regional Director and concurrent Bulacan Provincial Director Edna Dizon said Jonnah is a concrete proof that there’s a wealth in developing micro, small and medium enterprises in the Creative Industry.
Dizon also emphasized the timely enactment and implementation of Republic Act 11904, otherwise known as the Philippine Creative Industry Development Act, to support this kind of livelihood and develop more.
The Punikeras are now earning at least P5,000 monthly during the non-peak season and from P10,000 to P15,000 during the peak season.
๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐
Go Negosyo recognized Jonnah as โMost Promising Micro Entrepreneur.โ She was one of the 19 Outstanding Filipina Entrepreneurs out of more than 700 entries nationwide. First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos handed the award to her during the annual Go Negosyo Women Summit which was supported by DTI and co-presented with the Embassy of the United States of America to the Philippines.
Governor Daniel Fernando also conferred to her the Natatanging Babae during the Gawad Medalyang Ginto 2024. The honor is annually bestowed by the provincial government of Bulacan to outstanding individuals and groups who made an impact in different sectors.
Jonnahโs Punique is truly unique as it preserves local heritage and empowers women while penetrating local and international markets. (PIA 3)
PHOTO CAPTIONS
02A
๐ฝ๐๐๐๐โ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐. (Shane F. Velasco/PIA 3)
02B
๐โ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐. (PUNIQUE FB page)
02C
๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐5,000 ๐๐๐๐กโ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐10,000 ๐ก๐ ๐15,000 ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐. (Shane F. Velasco/PIA 3)
02D
๐บ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐๐โ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ (6๐กโ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก) ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ 19 ๐๐ข๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ . (First Lady Liza Marcos FB page)