I HAVE never been to Catanduanes. HABI: The Philippine Textile Council Inc., our indigenous textile advocacy group, visited weaving communities in the Bicol Region (Region 5) in 2019, but we missed Catanduanes, as it is an island apart. You have to have the time, which we had already spent on Camarines Norte and Sur, Albay and Sorsogon. Plus the logistics. You either get there on a plane from Manila, then take a roll-on-roll-off boat from the mainland or a long land journey before the roll-on roll–off boat. On that trip we ran out of time and energy. So, we put Catanduanes down for the next trip.

One reason we had to visit the province was that our HABI member, Ditta Sandico Ong, well-known crafts and fashion designer, has innovated the use of abaca (also known as banana fiber) for fashion clothing. And her abaca weavers and abaca supply come from Catanduanes, which is a big producer of abaca. It is grown widely on the island in small farms or upland places. Farmers cultivate abaca or just gather the stalks in the wild. Others in the community spin the fibers, then knot them in preparation for weaving. The next step is to dye the abaca twine and weave them into what is known as banana fiber cloth.

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