WHILE the banig may be a fading term for the current generation, Manila-based start-up Woven Handicrafts is breathing new life to the sturdy and centuries-old mat by giving it a modern functionality, transforming it into eye-poppingly colorful and durable laptop and tablet cases.
“Trends these days are in favor of handwoven craft and artisanal products because, we believe, people are looking for authenticity and uniqueness,” Woven founders and real-life couple Trish Lim and John Francia said.
Woven’s banig comes all the way from Basey, Samar, where weavers—mostly elderly women—intricately craft products using dried tikog leaves and dyed buri strips. They gather in a cave, known as Saob, where the cool temperature is said to make the leaves soft and pliable. There, they gossip and go through the day, weaving a custom already ingrained in the daily ritual.
When the buri is finally embroidered to produce native patterns doubly inspired by history and nature, each its own story, the banig is either preserved as is, which Woven sells as picnic mats or wall runners, or further morphed into gadget cases—a feat unheard of, until now.
“Bags and wallets were already being done so we needed to find something more relevant and exciting to sell to the market. We came up with gadget sleeves first because millennials today are never without their phones, tablets, or laptops,” Lim and Francia said.
Aside from utility and aesthetics, Woven believes its dedication to the community is another factor that sets it apart from the increasingly competitive handwoven-product market.
Prior to Woven’s founding in 2016, Francia was already present in the Basey community as an organizer, helping weavers form associations so they could earn more and benefit from their craft.
“Banig weaving used to be a good source of income for the women in Samar; they could pay for household expenses, raise their kids and send them to school with the money earned from weaving,” he said.
“But as the years went by, consolidators and entrepreneurs came in to buy the mats, keeping prices at their lowest while making high profits elsewhere,” Francia said.
This placed the weavers at a disadvantage. While a mat measuring 2 x 1.6 meters took about three to four weeks to complete, the weaver earned only an average of P600 per month.
“The typical weaver was 50 years old and hunchbacked. She didn’t see the value in continuing her weaving and she didn’t want her children to follow in her trade,” the couple noted.
Coming back from volunteer work, Francia was inspired to help the community in a way that both helped them earn just wages and preserve the dying art of weaving.
“We [hoped] to uplift the lives of artisans in the Philippines through the production and sales of handicrafts, ultimately sustaining these traditions as culturally and economically relevant livelihoods,” they said.
With assistance from ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation and Bayan Academy, the two organized artisans from 20 barangays into community-craft associations. They were able to raise both the price of banig and individual incomes by an average of 45 percent. From P600, earnings were now up to P940 a month.
But the couple noted this is still far from the goal wage, which is pegged at P3,000 per month by 2021.
“This will not only lift a lot of families out of poverty, it will also help encourage the younger generation to continue the tradition,” they said.
With the success of its gadget sleeves, Woven is continually expanding its coverage in more than one aspect. Aside from its recent release of handwoven bags, the enterprise also aims for a worldwide reach, noting local crafts deserve international attention.
It is also currently exploring other weaving communities, such as the Yakan Village in Zamboanga, for more opportunities.
“With greater market access comes more income for artisans, and with more income comes greater incentive for the young generation to take up the art of their parents,” the couple said.
The achievements and potentials of the enterprise proves there is beauty beyond design. It’s in the intricacies of the weaving, each strand a native tale; it’s in the labor aging women exert just to continue working; it’s in the process of giving back, of placing progress before profit.
“The beauty of woven crafts is not just the design, but the work–the painstaking attention and detail–that goes into every product,” Lim and Francia said.