During the summer of 2023, I had the opportunity to work with Lokal Lab, an NGO based in Siargao, Philippines. I had the pleasure and privilege of working with the weaving communities in Barangay Caridad and Barangay Bitaug. I quickly learned that the weavers in Caridad earn poverty wages, which is less than 120php per day ($2 USD). My job was to try and find a solution that would bring them more income on a regular basis.
My proposal was to develop new woven products curated to international tourists, restaurants, hotels and other businesses, and create a pricing hierarchy that would yield the needed increase of income from people who had disposable income. In collaboration with the Lokal Lab team and the Caridad weavers, I was able to design a catalog showcasing an array of products such as banigs, tablerunners and placemats available for purchase. We set up an online and in-person ordering system as well.
We concluded my time at Lokal with a roundtable discussion where I presented my research, had a representative from Caridad speak on their experience as weavers, and a marketplace for people to buy products from the weavers. Orders are only available locally within Siargao, but if you’re interested, you can check out the catalog here.
Lokal Lab Community Building Manager Catherine working through designs with Siargao visitor Alyona.
Weavers harvest alahiwan, a local grass known to grow on rice fields. After they collect, the alahiwan is left to dry in the sun for 2-3 days.
Simply put, while natural dye is healthier for the environment, the weavers do not have access to the land, money and other resources needed to use natural.
The weavers use what’s called a Habi-on. It’s a handmade floor loom with foot pedals that help the process move along quickly.
After drying, if the weavers want to add color, they use a dye that they purchase on Shopee. Many customers ask why they don’t use natural dye.
After the material is dyed, it is set out to dry again. One of the challenges the weavers face with the dye is color retention for specific colors.
An individual sized banig that is approximately 75cm x 190cm takes 2 weavers and 4-5 hours to craft. These products start selling around 500php.
