The Weavers

         Tessie Oquendo is one weaver who easily adapts to technological change.  She and her family live in a lot owned by Allan and Nelda located in Balete town.  She learned weaving in the mid-1980s through her in-laws who were then into abaca and piña fiber weaving business.  The family, however, was not able to sustain it.  In 1997, he met Allan who offered to take her as one of La Herminia’s weavers.

Manang Tessie, as she was fondly called by fellow weavers, used to finish weaving 10 meters of piña/silk fabrics per week.  She could not remember the payment she received then but claimed that she was getting a higher rate than at present. This was confirmed by Allan, saying that piña fabrics commanded higher value in the late 1990s than today owing largely to increased supply at present.  Nowadays, Tessie earns P900 for weaving a piece of barong material with designs which she finishes in three days. Her monthly income averages P6,700. Tessie’s 19-year-old daughter, Laila, who is also into weaving, earns pretty much the same amount as her mother. A large portion of their combined income goes to the construction of a bigger and better house that comes with two bedrooms and a comfort room, compared to their cramped, no bedroom nipa house before with the toilet built separately outside. At present, the family enjoys such amenities as television set, videoke, cell phones, and electric fan. Moreover, Laila has fully paid her motorcycle at P1,800 monthly amortization which she acquired three years ago.  After completing the construction of the house, their next project is owning the land they presently dwell in.  According to Allan, they will come up with an amortization scheme for the lot that will surely be within the financial capability of his weavers.  Manang Tessie, who is one of Allan’s most trusted weavers, was the first to occupy a portion of Allan’s newly purchased land in Balete, the hometown of Nelda.  The kind-hearted Allan understands and supports his weavers’ dreams and aspirations.

 

Life at La Herminia to the delight of its weavers involved not only looms or piña or silk fibers but also romance.

 

Liza, 27 years old, eldest child of Tessie, has known weaving since she was 14 years old.  Weaving helped see her through school.  She reached college but unfortunately stopped in 1997, when she went to Cebu. She is now married to Nelda’s brother, Raffy Garmino, also 27 years old.  Liza and Raffy met and fell in love at La Herminia.  He was into building construction work in his teens and migrated to Palawan in the mid-1990s where he learned how to fish to earn a living.

Nelda, who was aware of the hardships encountered by her brother in fishing, convinced him to come back home to Kalibo and join them in the weaving business.  Raffy obliged and learned how to weave by merely observing the workers at La Herminia.  He started with plain piña/silk fabrics.  After a month, he was ready to do intricately designed barong material using four-harness loom.  By 1999, he was earning P400/meter of piña/silk fabrics or P1,600 per barong material.  His present income per month from weaving averages P6,400, a far cry  from the hard-earned P2,800 monthly income from fishing.  Unlike Tessie who weaves at La Herminia, Liza and Raffy own separate looms, preferring to weave at home, giving them time to take care of their kid and attend to other domestic needs. Because of their two-year-old child and another one coming, Liza presently spends less time in her loom.  Nevertheless, she still earns an average of P3,500 per month.

 

From their savings, husband and wife were able to acquire a lot where they built their house.  To supplement their income, Raffy was also into farming, did a little fishing in a nearby river, and grew vegetable in their backyard.  Weaving allowed them to live more comfortably and face life’s challenges with more optimism.

 

Aside from Raffy, Nelda’s youngest sibling Helda, 24 years old, a former college student of Balete town, started in the trade in 2000.  She initially earned P2,700 per month for completing three cuts of barong materials.  As the months passed, she naturally progressed and improved her skill and is now capable of weaving two to three cuts of barong materials with designs per week, giving her a net income of P7,000 per month.  Apart from meeting her daily needs and that of her four-year-old child, Helda was able to save enough, allowing her to purchase a refrigerator and to fully acquire a 200-square-meter lot in Balete in 2003. 

 

Helda’s husband of one year, Herbert Quimpo, 30 years old, a former worker at a lumpia wrapper factory in Bulacan, personifies an inspired husband and a contented weaver since May 2003.  Aside from weaving, the naturally industrious Herbert invested part of his earnings from weaving in hog raising and vegetable growing.  Herbert and Helda are thankful they learned weaving for it provided them with the means to bridge the gap between their dreams and their lives as a young couple starting to raise a family.

 

Another love story which began at La Herminia was that of Joy and Melanie Palmon.   Melanie, 27 years old, started in La Herminia in 1998, while Joy, 22 years old, in 1999. Joy used to work as Allan’s errand boy.  Exposure to the looms, the weavers, and to the weaving process at La Herminia developed in him the desire to learn and become one of its weavers.  Melanie, on the other hand, knew weaving since she was in her teens, having come from a family of abaca weavers. Joy and Melanie met and found love at La Herminia and got married in February 2000.  Each of them earned P5,000–P6,000 per month.  Joy said that they kept all of his earnings and 30% of Melanie’s as savings.  The rest, that is, 70% of Melanie’s income, was enough in meeting the family’s daily needs. The young couple has learned early on the value of setting aside a portion of their income.  They saved hard for fear of being caught empty-handed again like when Melanie got sick needing P50,000 for treatment.  They were grateful to Allan for lending a helping hand.

 

They were through paying Allan the full amount and were able to build their own house within the La Herminia compound in Old Buswang.  The couple strictly adhered to priorities they set for themselves.  Aside from the objective of meeting emergency expenses, Joy and Melanie eagerly saved to fulfill their dream of owning a lot in a place apart from the La Herminia compound. They refused to acquire a television set, reasoning that this would only interfere and distract them from weaving.  They added that a radio set which they listened to while attending to their looms was enough entertainment for them.  They, however, invested in a washing machine explaining that this lessened their house chores, allowing them more time for weaving.  They were also optimistic that the two heads of sow they started to raise out of their savings from weaving, would grow and become another rich source of income.  Now that they can afford it, Joy and Melanie find time to regularly visit their parents living in another barrio.  They disclosed that they extended financial help to their ailing parents, a Filipino value they find enriching and fulfilling.

 

Raffy and Liza, Herbert and Helda, Joy and Melanie are grateful to Allan for giving them a steady source of income, enabling them to face the challenges of family life with more optimism, more confidence, and more courage.

 

There were many more workers at La Herminia benefited by piña and silk weaving.  Men like Rolly “Estong” Arboleda and Niño Franco opted to weave than remain a fisherman and electrician, respectively.  Estong, 38 years old, married with five children, was a fisherman for 11 years.  He learned the weaving process from his wife in 1995 and stayed with it for better pay and better working conditions.  The same is true with Niño Franco, 37, also married, who used to work as an electrician in Manila.  Niño is now an expert weaver at La Herminia.  He is happier now staying with his family coupled with getting better income from weaving.  It is a common sight to see La Herminia weavers with smiles in their faces.

 

When asked what will make them leave La Herminia, all the weavers interviewed declared that it would never happen and that they would stick it out with Allan, for weaving helped them get closer to fulfilling their dreams.