After seventeen years abroad, Evelyn de Guzman Breguera felt an undeniable pull toward home. Accompanied by her husband and two children, she left a successful corporate career to pursue a venture close to her heart.
In 2017, she returned to her hometown of Dasol, Pangasinan and discovered a new calling as an organic farmer. Her mission is simple yet profound—to help others and create positive change within her community.
Career abroad
Breguera’s years overseas shaped her entrepreneurial mindset, improving her business skills. Starting as an administrative staff member, she steadily climbed the ranks to become a country manager in the healthcare industry.
During this journey, she earned a degree in accounting to complement her earlier studies in hospitality. This equipped her with a strong foundation in managing finances and driving innovation, skills she would later bring to her farming venture.
“I was fortunate to have a boss who allowed me to grow. I learned to manage a business, handle accounts, and even represent the company across the Asia-Pacific region,” she said.
Returning home, she cared for her ailing father, while contemplating a fresh start. The family’s eight-hectare farm in Pangasinan passed down from her parents, was where she found the opportunity to start anew.
Family
Breguera’s family plays a significant role in her journey. She’s the youngest of five siblings, but as she puts it, “I was the one with the green thumb”.
While her siblings aren’t involved in the farm’s daily operations, they’ve picked her to take charge. Her husband manages the farm’s finances and oversees processing operations, while Breguera focuses on production and sales. She frequently travels to Manila for trade fairs and business negotiations, ensuring their products reach a wider market.
While managing the family business, she also cares for her children, who have spent most of their lives in Brunei. Her eldest child is studying civil engineering, despite Breguera’s attempts to encourage him to pursue a career in agriculture.
Building Abundance
Inspired by her father’s passion for farming, Breguera turned her focus to organic agriculture, bringing to life the Abundance Agri-Tourism and Training Center in 2018.
The pandemic in 2021 pushed her to innovate, and from five pots of Thai basil, the farm has now expanded to growing 18 herbs including roselle, rosemary, serpentina and tarragon.
These are processed into teas and spices sold online and in big city markets. The farm also sells seedlings and runs training programs, helping farmers learn both organic methods and agro-entrepreneurship.
“We teach them how to farm and how to run a business. We give them seedlings, buy their harvest, and process it into products,” Breguera said.
Organic certification
Breguera’s farm is part of the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), a government initiative that certifies farms as organic at a much lower cost. Third-party certifications can cost over P100,000, but PGS charges just P10,000.
“It’s a big help for small farmers. Certification gives them access to better markets, and we make it affordable,” she said.
Her farm also supports women farmers and out-of-school youth, offering training and job opportunities.
Like any startup, Abundance faced many challenges during the pandemic such as difficulty in logistics, inconsistent markets and rising costs, making it hard to balance everything.
Government programs like DTI’s Kapatid Mentor ME (KMME) helped Breguera innovate and grow. Through trade fairs, she connected with buyers in Manila, where one day of sales can match a month’s income in Pangasinan.
Legacy for the future
Breguera’s father, who passed away in 2022, is a lasting source of inspiration and guidance in her life.
As she balances her roles as a business leader, wife and mother, Breguera hopes her children will one day take part in the farm. For now, she’s focused on helping others and growing the farm and the training school.
Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: “Keep learning, stay focused and don’t give up. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.”
