Weaving has always been a part of the Cordilleran culture. The early settlers in these mountains wove their own clothes and blankets and several other apparels like headgears and probably bags. I do not know how they obtained yarns for weaving or rather, how they make their own threads. For all we know, they have their own source but the most plausible explanation would be that they are trading with the lowlanders for their weaving needs.
Fortunately, this weaving tradition has passed on from generation to generation and it survived until the present age of modernization. In fact, our weaving industry adapted to the changing times and are now producing goods similar to the fashion of the modern world like coats, wallets, laptop bags, back packs and many other accessories like neckties. That is why I believe weaving is here to stay. Besides a few big names in the weaving industry, there are other individual weavers and women associations that produces their own brand of weaving. At least for me, I have in my closet an ethnic inspired apparel which I use occasionally and wear it proudly.
It was for this reason that the first ever Cordillera Weaver’s Forum was held at BSU last week. The purpose of the forum is to assess the issues, problems and prospects of the weaving industry in the Cordillera. It was a joint effort by a number of stakeholders but it was facilitated by the Cordillera Weavers Producers Co-operative. It was a newly organized co-operative but some members are advocates of traditional and indigenous woven products.
Invited in the forum were the weavers themselves from all over the region, the different government agencies that are promoting the survival of the weaving industry and from the academe such as BSU and UP Baguio for research purposes.
Some of the issues that cropped up during the meeting were the aging population of the weavers. It is becoming difficult to replace the aging weavers. Another issue is the resistance to new technology so that the weavers can innovate and make competitive products. There was also an issue on the absence of intellectual property rights of the designs which make them vulnerable to being copied by anybody and claim them as their own.
There are also challenges such as the market, which is confined to the Cordillera Region only, the innovation of design and usage of the woven products and the inventory of all weavers and how big is the weaving industry in terms of sales and production.
But there are also opportunities. There are proposals to integrate traditional crafts to formal education. There are existing schools of living tradition for the younger generation to learn the traditional dances, music and of course weaving. Several government agencies such as DOST, DTI, DOT are supportive of the promotion of weaving and the market of woven products. There are also researches conducted by UP Baguio on the indigenous textile and the weaving technology during the older times in order to revive a lot of designs that were lost.
Perhaps, weaving is one where our Cordillera co-ops can explore and eventually venture into.
