“Biennial culture is already almost irrelevant, because so many more people are providing so many better opportunities for artists to exhibit their work.” –Jerry Saltz
More than a month after Iloilo exhibitors introduced hablon, a locally-produced fabric comprised of piña, abaca, and cotton, during an event at the Philippine Center New York, weavers from Kalibo, Aklan and embroiderers from Lumban, Laguna introduced piña-seda, a material comprised of pineapple and silk from the tropics, during the Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Traveling Exhibition, which took place at the same venue.
The ongoing exhibit runs until September 7 and is spearheaded by the Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas and the Office of Senator Loren Legarda.
Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas assistant director, Dr. Ana Maria Theresa Labrador, said the exhibition was initially launched in Washington, DC, from June 11 to July 16. After New York, the event travels to the Hamilton Library, located at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in Honolulu, from September 17 to November 17.
“Our primary goal is to promote common fibers handwoven and [turned] into textiles like bark, bast, cotton, abaca, and pineapple,” she said in a July 24 speech.
Weaving demonstrations and embroidery workshops also take place during the event.
She added, they are also studying looms and weaving technologies.
In addition, Legarda’s chief political affairs and project officer, Rose Arances, delivered a speech by the senator, noting, “Traditional textiles are ties that bind; it links the past to the present and brings together cultures, which, no matter how diverse, has a commonality.”
“Traditional textiles bring together industries, communities, and people,” she added. “A fabric or a garment is a synergy among workers and artisans. It is a product of diligence, hard work, and passion.”
Hands
Arances discussed how several hands are needed to create the fabric. When producing piña, if the farmer is also the reaper and the weaver both warps the material and serves as loom dresser, it will require at least four people, including the designer and sewer, to turn it into fabric, she explained. For silk, it takes between eight to nine people.
In total, a handwoven piña-seda blouse with embroidery would need around 17 people, comprised of 12 working on fabric, three on embroidery and transport, and two for sewing and design.
According to the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI), there are currently 1,277 weavers in the Philippines and 494 groups involved with the hand-weaving sector.
Arances added, “Imagine how many more families and communities we can support if we continue to promote traditional textiles.”
Pineapple fiber is considered more delicate in texture than any other vegetable fiber. It is extracted from the leaves of the pineapple plant, particularly the red Spanish variety, which has leaves that yield excellent fibers for hand-weaving. While it is believed pineapple is not native to the Philippines, but introduced to the country by the Spanish, the beginning of domestic pineapple cultivation marked the start of piña cloth weaving in the country.
Handwoven piña cloth with intricate embroidery was greatly prized then. In the 1860s, many European royalty received gifts of Philippine piña cloth from loyal subjects to commemorate momentous occasions. However, the eventual influx of cheaper and imported machine-woven fabrics, and the foreign influence on Philippine fashion, resulted in the decline of the piña cloth production, which is a laborious and time-consuming process.
Revive
In 1989, in an effort to revive the industry, a pilot program to promote piña fiber and cloth production was implemented in Aklan, which has been known as the center of piña fiber and cloth production, particularly because red Spanish pineapples are primary found in Panay. There were also efforts to encourage production in Antique, Guimaras, Capiz, Palawan, Negros Oriental, and La Union; while production in Capiz, Negros Oriental, and La Union ceased for various reasons, it has made considerable progress in Palawan.
In terms of decorticated piña fiber, production is mainly in Camarines Norte, with very limited quantities in Cavite and Rizal.
In 2014, there were 2,086 hectares (ha) of pineapple farms in Camarines Norte; 67 ha in Palawan; 21 ha in Aklan; and three hectares in Antique, which sources piña fiber. These farms also employed 1,370 farmers.
When piña-seda weaving was introduced in Aklan in 1998, customers reportedly preferred it over pure piña; piña-seda is cheaper but its beauty and texture is on par with pure piña. The shift to piña-seda from pure piña was reportedly caused by difficulties in the supply of red Spanish pineapple leaves, likely due to a shortage of knotters.
Piña-seda, or pineapple-silk, is a handwoven fabric made from hand-scraped piña fiber blended with silk to produce a different texture and design. Aside from being lightweight, the combined properties of pineapple and silk makes the fabric suppler than pure pineapple and with more body as compared to pure silk; it is stronger than pure pineapple but three times cheaper, and easier to weave due to the strength of silk.
Production
In terms of silk production, the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA), in cooperation with PTRI, the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMSU) Sericulture Research and Development Institute, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, among other state colleges and universities, spearheads the development.
The silk industry is characterized by various activities including silkworm egg production, cocoon production, reeling operations, weaving and made-up goods manufacturing. Mulberry farming is also important because silkworms feed solely on mulberry leaves.
A majority of these farms are located in the Western Visayas, particularly in Negros Occidental. Negros Occidental also hosts cocoon-production, alongside La Union, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, and Abra.
This industry can provide a livelihood for many communities, but there has been a noted decrease in domestic silk production. The production of dried cocoons went down from 9,000 kilograms (kg) in 2003 to 3,000 kg in 2012; there were 150 ha of mulberry plantations in 2014, as compared to 300 ha in 2005; and production of raw silk declined from 1,500 kg in 2005 to 800 kg in 2014.
Over the past decade, the Philippines has exported an average 25,000 square meters (sq. m) of silk fabric; but the last time it exported raw silk was in 2013, when 10 kg was sent to Luxembourg.
There is reportedly a huge gap between demand and production of raw silk in the country. PhilFIDA estimates a demand of 10 metric tons (MT) domestically, as compared to 0.425 MT in production in 2015, which has resulted in average annual imports of 13,227 kg of raw silk, 12,300 kg of silk yarn and 1.119 million sq. m of silk fabrics. Due to the limited supply of raw silk, the supply of piña-seda fabric also went down over the past decade, from 57,804 meters in 2007 to 17,690 meters in 2016.
Challenges
Among the challenges in piña-seda textile production it the limited supply of silk, as well as supplying or manufacturing knotted pineapple fiber and handling a reduced number of weavers. For silk production, in particular, PTRI notes there is low confidence in the profitability of sericulture, or silk farming, and a lack of integration within the supply and value chain.
Another concern is the lack of water during extreme heat or periods of drought.
In terms of piña fiber, the tedious process of hand-scraping fiber has led to limited production. The irregular demand for piña cloth products, due to high prices, is also a challenge.
Other constraints include a lack of capital to purchase raw materials, looms, and other tools; along with a lack of training on weaving and product development.
However, the local textile industry is continuously evolving and these challenges only encourage more innovation among industry stakeholders. The Sericulture Research and Development Institute in Bacnotan, La Union has established 44 sericulture technology-demonstration (techno-demo) farms in eight provinces, namely, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Rizal, Zambales, Bulacan, Tanay and Batangas. A component of the program is mulberry research and development, which has helped boost production of the heavy leaf-yielding mulberry trees.
Decline
In 2016, piña fiber production declined by 27.1 percent; from 7.95 MT in 2015, production dropped to 5.79 MT in 2016.
In a bid to increase production of pineapple fiber, the Department of Agriculture, through PhilFIDA, provided agricultural machinery for farmer cooperatives that maintain large areas of pineapple plantation, especially in Mindanao.
The equipment include multi-fiber decorticating machines with safety mechanism, used to extract fibers from waste pineapples leaves left in the field after harvest; mechanical driers to dry fibers during rainy season; and baling machines to prepare clean, inspected, and graded pineapple fibers.
To ensure sustainability of the local textile industry, there is a need for convergence among government agencies involved; spanning raw material production, trainings and workshops, equipment and materials provision, product development and promotion program, and a systematic marketing system.
PhilFIDA has programs for the development and adoption of advancements on the utilization of plant fibers and improvements to postharvest technology on fiber extraction; it also established processing facilities and conducts product development. PTRI, meanwhile, provides technical training for weaving associations, particularly on basic and advanced handloom weaving, natural dyeing, provision of weave designs, and response to technical services and short-term contract research. It has also identified areas in the Philippines as natural dye production hubs and natural dye satellite centers in order to respond to immediate needs of the weaving communities.
The Department of Agriculture can also help in developing more pineapple and mulberry plantations to ensure steady supply of piña and silk fibers; the Department of Trade and Industry-Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions can also help promote local fabrics through trade fairs, showcasing such products locally and abroad; and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority can conduct skills training for weavers and embroiderers. Local government units must also support in creating a nurturing environment where the traditional textile industry can flourish.
As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, which reviews the Philippine government’s proposed national budget, Legarda ensures these programs are funded, Arances affirmed.
Showcase
The Hibla ng Lahing Filipino Traveling Exhibition is one way of showcasing such traditional crafts, with the hope it will further promote the industry; and the Pambansang Museo ng Pilipinas has always been a “staunch partner in this endeavor,” emphasized Arances.
PhilFIDA and PTRI, the primary agencies offering support for the industry, have budgets worth P358.457 million and P79.820 million, respectively; for 2018, which is still under review, PhilFIDA has a proposed budget of P431.490 million, while PTRI is proposing P83,237.
According to Arances, Legarda plans to reassess these funds to see if there are areas that still need to be covered, such as support for the pineapple and mulberry farms.
She noted, other the years, Legarda’s office has supported programs that provide farmers, weavers, and local textile manufacturers additional funding from the national budget, including silk development at the DMMSU campus in Bacnotan, La Union, the establishment of weaving and processing centers, providing technical assistance, the establishment of natural dye centers, natural dye and weaving seminars and workshops, providing production support services, among others.
“Under PTRI, there is the Textile Science and Technology Services Program for the testing of raw materials and allied products and the provision of technical assistance to the textile, garments, and allied industries on textile processing and machinery utilization; as well as the Textile Technology Transfer Program for the dissemination of textile information and provision of documentation of services to textile millers and allied industries,” Arances explained. “Under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, we provide assistance to artisans, including weavers, through the provision of looms, threads, and other materials for weaving.”
RA 9242, or the Philippine Tropical Fabrics Law, which Legarda authored in her first term as senator, reportedly intends to promote Philippine natural fabrics through the use of such materials to produce official uniforms for government officials and employees and, in the process, support the local fiber industry; it stipulates the wearing of Philippine tropical fabrics with five percent fiber content from abaca, banana, and pineapple, along with 15 percent silk.
“Strengthening of the local tropical fabrics industry is [attune] to our advocacy of promoting sustainable development and preserving our rich heritage,” Arances said. “It will also provide jobs, especially for those in the countryside; furthermore, it unlocks the creativity of Filipinos, which is overflowing.”
The Philippine piña-seda textile has great potential in the world market, according to Arances, noting, Legarda plans to “make [them] prized items even here in the United States as it has been in the past centuries because the quality of our handwoven fabrics with intricate embroidery is truly world-class.”
Through the Hibla Travelling Exhibition, they reportedly aim to do just that./WDJ