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If we were to list down the life incidents we like best to talk about, recounting our failures will definitely be nowhere near the top of our list. It is because we always take in failures as “dreadful” moments, reminding us of our weaknesses, negative emotions and setbacks. And more to that the conclusion that we are not capable of doing things we plan or want.

But as it is also said that every failure has two possible effects -- either you inhibit yourself from doing some things for fear of another failure, or forces you to do better next time, trying other approaches to achieve better next time. For the latter, it’s the opportunity to do things again, in a more intelligent manner, to sit back and examine where one has failed, and make the proper changes for a better outcome.

I’m privileged to have witnessed this second effect happen to a young but active union of women, the Tubod Active Women Association (TAWA).

At first, it was not easy for these women to do two different roles -- as mothers in their respective homes at the same time as production workers in their association. And the fact that TAWA being a newly organized association embarking on a startup meat processing project, there’s really not much to expect from this group of women.

The first quarter was a challenging experience for the women of TAWA. There’s the difficulty in establishing their market niche in view of the stiff competition in the industry. There’s the constant demand for quality improvement. Mastering financial recording is yet another roadblock but a necessary evil. Not to mention the adjustments they had to make among themselves to blend together the diverse personalities composing the team. These were only the few as many more obstacles were waiting for them.

Then there came the big storm -- a net loss in the first three months; a trembling management structure; unclear set of policies on internal control, leading to the mismanagement of funds; miscommunication among members; and a bunch of grievances from the different sides of the house.

It was a total disorder and a source of all the ridicule and criticisms from neighbors reminding them that what happened was just a “history-repeat-itself” tale. The same as what happened to the livelihood projects of other people’s organization in the area. There could have been enough reasons for the members to quit and go back to the usual daily household chores they’ve been doing for the longest time.

But for the women of TAWA, it was more than just the hardships they underwent. For them, they have a cause to pursue: to improve their and their families’ lot, and to help provide employment to the other folks in their village.

Thus, despite the ridicule and the criticisms, they focused on making their project succeed. They assessed where and how they failed. They reviewing their project objectives, examined the organizational structure and evaluated performance of the management staff, redefined their duties and responsibilities, held an open forum for the general assembly. They also found other ways to market their goods, refined the technical processes involved. On the financial aspect, they installed a new internal control system, and set clear policies approved by the general assembly.

The hard work paid off.

At present, TAWA is working on the double to cope with the increased market demand -- from a 2-kilogram production volume of meat products to more than 10 kilograms. They were glad about the market’s response. They said they can easily dispose the 10-kilogram volume in a matter of eight days. They have also started utilizing their production center, not just for the production of goods, but also for their weekly meetings and updating.

It was actually through their failure that they have learned a lot. Now, they have become more enthusiastic to continue the project and more confident to prove that their critics were wrong.

Certainly, failure is not bad at all, as the women of TAWA have proved. It just reminds us of our innate imperfection as human beings. To be human is to experience failure. As they say, “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”

Failure is part of life, especially so in a successful life. Because in reality, most successful people failed more often and it is from there that they learned a lot and became stronger. Confucius was quoted as saying, “Our greatest glory is not in winning, but in rising every time we fall.” The same is true with this women’s group. Failure fired them up to stand again, dusted themselves off and gave it another try. But this time, with more passion.

Whenever they remember and talk about those times of failure, they can’t help but laugh at those moments. Just as their organization’s name suggest -- TAWA!