Midsayap is a first class municipality in the North Cotabato Province of Mindanao and a prime producer of agricultural products including rice, corn, mango, banana and other vegetables and root crops. Other than its thriving agriculture industry, Midsayap also takes pride in their gifts and handicraft industry from decorative crafts to woven traditional textiles such as inaul, tubao, and malong.
With the identified need to update and enhance the technical skills and capabilities of the women weavers of Midsayap, the regional office of DOST XII tapped the weaving specialists of the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) to conduct training on advanced handloom weaving to the members of two Rural Improvement Clubs (RIC) from Brgy. Sambulawan and Brgy. Central Bulanan. Both RICS are members of the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) that supports women empowerment through Gender Responsive Economic Actions for the Transformation of Women (GREAT Women), a project funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
The five-day seminar-workshop was attended by a total of 30 participants, 17 of whom were Muslims from Brgy. Sambulawan and 13 Christians from Brgy. Central Bulanan. Most of the participants expressed their gratitude to the resource speakers, Ms. Josefa L. Garlitos and Mr. Ramiro R. Guab of PTRI’s Technical Services Division (TSD), for guiding them and teaching them new techniques in creating and incorporating various designs in weaving. They were also impressed at how very well accustomed and knowledgeable Ms. Garlitos and Mr. Guab were with their traditional looms and even suggested ways to improve the looms by using additional harnesses and other loom adjustments.
The participants were thrilled with the new set of designs they have learned through the topic on cloth draft and design analysis and design execution as discussed by Ms. Garlitos. The Provincial S&T Director of North Cotabato Engr. Normina P. Pahm attested that the “participants were amazed in the versatility of the resource persons on the topic.” The Maguindanao weavers were especially impressed at how adept both trainers were in using and understanding how their traditional looms work. PSTD Pahm also took note of the heightened interest and enthusiasm of the participants throughout the five-day training
The two groups have different weaving styles, the Christian weavers from Central Bulanan weave the simple and basic ‘hablon’ type, while the Muslims of Brgy. Sambulawan have intricate pick-up designs woven in traditional upright looms.
After the completion of the seminar/workshop, the PTRI trainers were privileged to visit the weaving center in Brgy. Sambulawan where they were given a warm welcome by the Muslim weavers. They have expressed their appreciation on the newly acquired weaving techniques which they claim would be an excellent addition to the “GREAT Women Brand.”
To further help the two groups of weavers, PTRI experts recommended them to have a proper compilation and documentation of their designs using design graphing they have acquired through the training.
The seminar-workshop on Advanced Handloom Weaving is just one of the many training courses offered by PTRI to the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMES) others include basic handloom weaving, extraction and application of natural dyes, application of synthetic dyes, tie-dyeing, and finishing technology, among others. (Joy Camille A. Baldo, S&T Media Service)
