Chocolate: The New Gold

The typical Boholano breakfast is never without that hot cup of chocolate or locally known as sikwate.
For a Boholana girl who has known sikwate since childhood, it is not only a morning routine but a way to
make a living.

Dalariech Polot grew up making chocolate drink locally known as

sikwate during her childhood. Back then, life was difficult for a family of
seven. Her father was a tricycle driver and her mother was a street
cleaner. To help augment their income, her mother started to make
tablea and sell it to sari-sari stores. She grew up witnessing hardwork
from her parents to sustain their family from a simple entrepreneurial
effort to a successful business venture.

But young dreamers chase their dreams like a child chases a butterfly -
relentless.

Seeing the possibilities of the tablea and the cocoa industry, Dalariech dreamt of having her own chocolate
factory and create the highest quality chocolates using local ingredients.

The chasing began when DTI endorsed her to join the 2013 Young Women Entrepreneur Bootcamp by the
Samahan ng mga Pilipina para sa Reporma at Kaunlaran (Spark!) Philippines and the United States
Embassy. The Department of Trade & Industry had been instrumental in the preparation of business plan
for her official entry. Among 26 fellows who joined in the business plan competition, Dalareich emerged
as the Grand Winner of the First Young Women Entrepreneur BootCamp, raking in a swooping $5,000
prize.

A few months later, she bought her family a van. It was her first dream-come-true moment.

And it wasnt that long before the second one came. As their tablea business started to get bigger,
so was her dream. In 2014, she got into a month long chocolate making course at Ghent University in
Belgium. It was a full scholarship where she didnt have to pay a single centavo. For her it was the most
essential part in fulfilling her chocolate making dream. She needed to learn how to make chocolates like
a pro nowhere else but in the place where the
famous Belgian Choolates are made.

When she came back to the Philippines, she

immediately tried to put everything in practice.
There were a lot of challenges for her to start
with specially the climate conditions. Through
constant improvements, experimentation, she
was able to come up with high quality
chocolates from cocoa beans. She also made
product and development consultations with
the DTIs in-house food technologist.
Dalariech is now living her dream of running her own
chocolate factory. Last year, she launched her line
of luxury chocolates made from raw cacao beans.
Ginto Chocolates are pralines that are filled with
original Filipino fillings like: calamansi, coconut, milk,
mangoes, & coffee liquor. Also shes releasing a line
of artisanal chocolates with a hint of loca chili, mint
& coconut. The products are sold to resorts and
restaurants and are getting much attention from
foreigners.

Today, Ginto Chocolates continue to soar and catch

the attention of both locals and tourists who visit
Bohol. Dalariech is still to complete her line of
equipment to give better quality to her chocolates but with so much hope that one day her chocolates
would someday be at par with other luxury chocolates in the market. Who would have thought that from
her mothers tablea sprung a huge dream of producing the finest local luxury chocolates the new gold.