Coming from the war-torn city of Zamboanga, Marillac Tan, 23, can now be found inside a workshop, busy learning the ropes of traditional embroidery at the Escuela Taller de Filipinas Foundation, Inc. (ET) in Intramuros, Manilla.
“I wanted to learn the skill because I can use it wherever I go,” says Tan with hopeful eyes.
Tan got separated from her family and was left in an orphanage in Bulacan, under the care of nuns, one of whom heard of the newly opened embroidery program and encouraged her to join the training. She only completed Grade 9 in school, so she welcomed the opportunity to learn a new skill in the hopes that it could help her find and reunite with her family.
With her is Zandra Bernabe, 25, from Baseco, Tondo, Manila, and a high school graduate. Bernabe was already into sewing, but her brother, a graduate of carpentry training in ET, convinced her to try and learn embroidery.
As first trainees, Tan and Bernabe share not only humble back stories, but also the simple dream of having a livelihood that could help them stitch a life of comfort, one that they could share with their families. Their trainor, Vanessa Cancillar, who had been into embroidery for more than 10 years, teaches these two women all she knows of the skill and the trade.
“The technique is easy to learn, but you need a lot of practice to improve and attain the speed needed to complete the embroided parts quickly. The faster you do it, the more job orders you can turn over. The students can confidently accept job orders as soon as they complete the training,” explains Cancillar.
Embroidery was introduced to the Filipino women by the Spanish friars during the colonial period. The best examples are on the embroided barongs, Filipiniana dresses, and handkerchiefs. The kind of traditional embroidery that is taught in ET can be seen on priests’ stoles and vestments, and dresses of the saint images. “There’s always a demand for this type of embroidery, and the payment differs depending on the intricacy of designs that the client demands,” she added.
For the past ten years, ET had been teaching and training specialized skills to out-of-school youth so they can earn their livelihood and use those skills in the preservation of heritage structures. In particular, they are taught masonry, carpentry and wood works, decorative painting and finishing, electrical installation, plumbing and metal works for the preservation and restoration of our historic and cultural structures.
“Our exposure has been mostly on heritage churches, but we do see the objects inside the churches like the vestments. We saw the need in embroidery, and it so happens that one of our faculty members knew embroidery. So, we thought why not go into that? It’s related to what we do and it’s a dying tradition,” shares Architect Carmen Bettina Bulaong, ET Executive Director.
In the course of adding an intangible cultural heritage component in its program, ET also takes a harder look on its gender sensitivity program. For years now, the student population in ET had always been with men in the majority, given the perception that construction work is afforded for the male population. While ET has been making strides in their effort to educate parents and the youth that construction work opportunities are open to all genders, the institution finds itself still struggling to equalize the number of young men and young women in their own back yard. It is estimated that there are only 20 percent women trainees in ET. “That’s the same in Escuela Taller in Bohol,” added Bulaong.
Since the craft is very much associated with women doing needle work, embroidery was added in their year-long training schedule last February. And by following the teaching concept of learning by doing, the trainor and the first recruits are already working on a specific job order for a client.
“At the start, it’s quite hard because you have to study the technique and we get sleepy while doing embroidery. That’s our biggest challenge (laughs). So, what we do is that we play some music and tell each other stories while we work. We also get pricked by the needle a lot, but after we have completed it, it looks really nice,” says Bernabe. On the other hand, Tan has a bigger plan. “When I learn the skill, I plan to teach others.”
Women and PWDs who are interested to learn embroidery are highly encouraged to contact ET at escuelataller.org.ph and on their official Facebook account.
Image credits: Escuela Taller de Filipinas Foundation, Inc.