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Fair and Ethical, Green and Natural
amba nature works directly with producers in the micro cottage industries in the Philippines and specialises in sourcing ethically and fairly traded products from non-profit voluntary cooperatives, foundations and ngos, and livelihood communities and community based enterprises and families.
Some are located in far way remote places that are difficult to get to and their products are never seen outside of the local areas or in the international market, and the work involved to source the right products and to find the right producers to work with is not easy, but when we discover the right ones it makes the effort all the worthwhile.
And, caring for the environment is an essential part our business and our fair trade policy. Our beautiful and stylish fair trade homeware and accessories are handcrafted from environmentally friendly indigenous natural raw material sources using unusual species of grasses, leaves, plants, stalks and vines and fruit and vegetable fibres that are in abundance or under reforestation, and are renewable and not endangered.
We recently added a new selection of fun and useful bags made from recycled fruit juice bags, and our gorgeous collections of new fair trade jewellery are rich in semi-precious stones, beads and shells, that are quite stunning and stand out. And, we are now working with six more producers who benefit from our support.
Each producer group is specialises in a different natural raw material and the products are individually handcrafted by skilled and talented artisans using traditional methods. This involves harvesting and extraction, washing, cleaning and drying and then further natural methods of preparation, and all this before it is even ready to make the items, so you can see the painstaking detail in which our lovely products are made, and the finished items are durable and long-lasting, even pina material has been known to last 100 years.
So, not only do our products look great, they have less impact on the environment and you can be sure about the quality, which is backed up by our money-back guarantee.
ADF
ADF is a non-profit voluntary organisation that embarked on a long-range local development program to conquer the increasing poverty in the province, and provide work to families in the micro cottage industry who depend on selling their craftwork for a living.
Their vision is to empower local communities who can live sufficiently and responsibly while participating in their own development. They seek an equitable, people oriented and sustainable use of resources with bias on environmental thereby contributing to a progressive, peaceful and God–loving community.
Their mission is to collaborate with the existing local structures toward self-reliance of communities among marginal upland and lowland farmers, subsistence fishermen, landless workers, micro-entrepreneurs, craftsmen and women.
Their goals are to venture into profit centers and other forms of business enterprises in partnership with people’s organisation and cooperative for sustainability; to protect and conserve the resource base in the province in cooperation with organised people’s organisations and cooperatives, local government units and line agencies; and to continue the transformation of the poverty groups from a state of being marginal to self sufficiency, accessing them to productive resources and environment-friendly technologies.
Working towards sustainable growth with people’s organisations and cooperatives bringing market closer to the countryside.
CMBC
CMBC is a socio-economic project of the Carmelite Missionaries. It was conceived as a response to the church call for the integral and total development of the human person, evangelisation, people empowerment and building of the church through the basic ecclesial communities. The Carmelite Missionaries were inspired to organise and form the physically handicapped, the displaced minorities, the victims of injustice, the orphaned and abandoned children, the poor and the needy out of school youths (new poor) and taught them to trust and believe in Jesus. PRAY, WORK, STUDY, SHARE, CARE and even spend some time for LEISURE AND FUN.
CMBC’s vision is to alleviate the poverty, plight and suffering of the “new poor” and it’s mission, as a socio-economic project of the Carmelite Missionaries is committed to the integral development of it’s workers and the “new poor.” The center shall achieve this through the formation of a Christian community, production of high quality religious articles, bamboo products and novelty items for local and international market and employment generation.
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Some of the craft workers who benefit from
CMBC’s socio-economic and pastoral programme.
The socio-economic and pastoral programme is not a business enterprise and neither for profit. It was purposely designed to serve the Church’s economically, psychologically, morally and spiritually poor and underprivileged.
CMBC realises its goals and commitments by generating and providing more jobs to these ‘new poor’ and through employment their basic human needs are provided and satisfied. It also caters to their professional advancement and earnestly hopes to empower more and more people, and so, it provides assistance for the college education of deserving workers, producing a good number of professionals - teachers, engineers, businessmen and seamen, and skilled workers such as auto mechanics, radio operators, draftsmen appliance specialists, electricians and the like.
Dela Cruz
Being a community-based industry, the bulk of the production workers are in several communities within the province. The company has farmed out the weaving process to about a thousand weavers who are subcontractors. Those that started work 10 years ago are still with the company and have become highly skilled artisans. In-house artisan workers are in charge of the finishing, cleaning, and packing of the semi-processed items delivered at the factory.
Nito Forest Vine products - trim and tidy, final check
Nito napkin holders – lacquering work
The top management consists of family members who are basically in charge of all the critical functions of managing the business. Workers are well motivated to do their jobs. The working relationship is cordial and productive. The company places high regard over the social responsibility of its workers. In the communities, a leader is assigned to consolidate the goods for delivery, and to distribute raw materials. The attraction to weaving nito baskets is good because they can work in their own homes and still get good pay.
Although it takes a lot of skill to weave, it requires only the most basic of tools and the job imposes no health hazard. They get regular weekly pay, have flexible work hours and the opportunity to work at home which is a most important consideration because it brings all family members together.
HAC
Having difficulty accessing a consistent supply of good quality pina cloth, the owner was forced to engage in pina weaving that started its business organisation. So it started with one weaver in 1989. Realising the need to revive other traditional cloth that disappeared from the market, efforts were focused to the revival by having additional weavers and new materials. When such was showcased in the market, a demand was created strengthened by the increasing popularity of the use of natural fibres globally. Responsive to the need, the company started increasing its weaver based from one weaver in 1988 to about 80 after two years. These weavers are home based and work was farmed out to them.
Ringgue three-pedal lattice work is unique to Kalibo weaving.
A system was designed where centralised procurement of materials, processing of materials into warp form prior to weaving, establishment weaving specifications and standards, procurement of accessories by the office to be supplemented to the weavers in order assist and speed up the weaving process, establishment management system and control for its business activities. Innovations were made and immediately implemented for the worker's benefits with the objective of increasing weaver's productivity. A supply chain was established between communities and the company. On site weaving modules were set up to take care of researching new products and to highlight the activities of the company. It also acted as a training facility in upgrading the skills of its workers.
Pina material in finer detail – the finishing touches
The company’s thrust of development is centered on the family for its basic production unit is a weaving loom which is housed in the weaver's home, and the company's workforce is located in villages in 8 different towns in their province. Each village may have at least 15 weavers working for the organisation and HAC supply all materials and semi-processed goods.
If there is a need for training, they coordinate with government agencies for assistance whereby the training of a certain skill is directed to that group. Likewise, they assure the trainees who are willing to buy their products as a result of the training provided, that the product passes the quality and specification requirements. If the production is quite big they assist in marketing the products to other interested parties. What is considered on-the-job training provides an opportunity for the beneficiaries to earn money as a supplement to their income.
Lanot
Baptist minister, Pastor Michael Parson shared his business concept with this producer. They initially planned to put up the company as a vehicle within which to provide members of their church with employment. With this in mind, it became the basis for the formulation of their mission and vision statements.
Vibrant Creation
Vibrant Creation (formerly a part of Lanot) is a community based organisation established with the vision of manufacturing handmade paper from indigenous materials using environmentally friendly methods and material.
 
Mixing, straining & dyeing the vegetable fibres, rice straw & banana plant stalks.
Pressing the vegetable mulch into paper sheets individually.
 
Drying the paper sheets and the packing department.
RE Enterprises
Re Enterprises is a community based manufacturer whose principal raw material is raffia and who do their own extraction and weaving of the fabric. Many of the craft workers are village women who augment their family income by weaving, and in many cases the income of the wife is the main cash income of the family since many of the men are seasonal workers. They provide work for about 25% of the town.
Splitting the leaf of the buri palm…
to expose the raffia fibres ready for combing.
Pictures frames in the making…
from handmade paper and fossilised leaves, and handwoven raffia roll.
WUTHLE
WUTHLE is a project which turns bobbin lace making and embroidery into a livelihood for women ex-Hansenites and their talented relatives.
Initially there was no intention to start a business and the beginning of the project was quite incidental. It all started in 1985 with a birthday gift to a Belgian ICM Missionary Sister who was working with and living among the Hansenites at the Western Visayas Sanitarium in Iloilo. In gratitude, two young girls, both daughters of patients, gave her a self-made, beautifully embroidered handkerchief. Seeing the possibilities, the Sister asked them to embroider some more handkerchiefs, which could be sent as tokens of gratitude to benefactors. These handkerchiefs were appreciated so much that orders came in. The two girls taught other women, ex-Hansenites and their relatives, and the project grew.
In 1991, the attention of the Sister was drawn to the many women who could not hold a needle because of deformities to their hands, and while she was on home-leave in Belgium, she learned how to make bobbin lace, and a new artistic skill opened up new possibilities.
wuthle project turns bobbin lace making and embroidery...
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women ex-Hansenites and their relatives, many with deformed hands.
The livelihood project grew rapidly and with this, the necessity to turn it into a business. At present, embroidery and lace making have become a valuable means of income to fifty women.
UDF
UDF is a non-profit organisation and a provincial social development institution, organised in 1988 by a group of socially concerned Aklanons aware of the growing need to address the socio-economic problems of the province.
As a strategy, they help their target beneficiaries by building community based organisations, identifying and developing indigenous, as well as, combating poverty through technical and managerial skills training and the promotion of income generating projects. These are supported through grants and loans from private sector, foreign and local government units and non-government organisations.
Their goals are to transform….
….subsistence farmers from their state of poverty and dependence unable to access productive resources, into being self-reliant, skilled productive farmers able to access appropriate agri-technologies, capital and other productive resources.
….marginal fisher folks from their state of subsistence to being self-reliant, ecologically responsible, able to engage in and effectively manage alternative sources of livelihood.
….the urban poor from their state of poverty, exploited, unskilled and dependent to being appropriately skilled and trained people, self-reliant in their ability to access productive resources and engage in livelihood activities.
….disadvantaged women and youth from their state of exploitation, dependence and functional illiteracy into an empowered, educated and skilled sector able to access productive resources and vital services.
DGS
DGS was created to provide additional sustainable livelihood opportunities for the families and communities affected by the San Roque Multi-purpose Project (SRMP or Project).
By purchasing DGS products, customers help assure sustainable livelihood (income) for these families while working at or near their homes. Such purchases support the livelihood programs of the Project's private and public proponents: San Roque Power Corporation and National Power Corporation, respectively.
THE AFFECTED FAMILIES
Nearly 800 households in San Manuel and San Nicolas, Pangasinan and in Itogon, Benguet relocated due to the construction of the SRMP. They currently are establishing new means of livelihood with the support of SRPC, NPC, other agencies of the Republic of the Philippines, and DGS.
Camanggaan resettlement village
San Manuel, Pangasinan
In addition, more than 1,600 additional families residing outside the Project site, but who farmed or otherwise generated their livelihood from lands therein, must likewise establish new means of livelihood.
Upon completion of construction in early 2003, the work opportunities associated with it decreased dramatically. At the peak of construction, more than 5,000 were employed, about 80 percent of whom resided in an affected community.
Now, however, about 120 permanent employees are needed to operate and maintain the SRMP, including the site security force. Hence, most of those who were employed during construction must establish new or re-establish previous means of livelihood.
These affected persons are willing to undertake the development of diverse livelihood projects as alternative ways to supplement agricultural income, such as weaving cloth and making quilts, garments, bags, jewelry and other products. But they need help.
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DGS was involved in the development of the SRMP and decided to organise, manage, operate and finance a company to serve as a training, purchasing, production, quality control, and marketing vehicle for such livelihood projects.
Hence, the activities of DGS expand and enhance the livelihood opportunities of affected peoples and communities, thereby supporting the social obligations of NPC, and of SRPC as a matter of corporate policy and concern.
GG Fair Trade Foundation
A non-stock, non-profit organisation that advocates social entrepreneurship and fair trade practices and organised by a group of social entrepreneurs and development advocates in 2005.
Their vision is the brand of choice for unique, innovative, and hand crafted quality gifts that are made by livelihood communities of marginalised members of society.
Their mission is to create economic value for artisans and the marginalised members of society, by leveraging their own brand to provide market access and other business solutions for their livelihood endeavors, to help them improve their quality of life.
They work with organisations that have marginalised groups as their beneficiaries. Among their partner NGO communities is a shelter for street children, groups working with women in urban and rural poor communities, and with indigenous people, former migrant workers to Japan, former prison inmates and their families, and children and adults with learning disabilities. In all, they currently support 12 partner NGOs.
Given the limited resources of livelihood producers and NGOs in the Philippines, they chose to support communities through Social Entrepreneurship. As a social enterprise they work together with communities in the development of their livelihood programs primarily through market access and product development. In the short term, market access means more sales and more income for the producers. Product development on the other hand helps producers to improve their craft in terms of design and production processes, making their products more marketable and competitive. In the long term, these interventions will enhance livelihood programs that will put the NGOs and their beneficiaries on the road to sustainability and poverty reduction.
Each product is handmade by members of livelihood communities. But more than being a great item, each product represents the desire and commitment of the groups they work with, to seek dignified alternative sources of income. Each product is a message of support for their livelihood groups and artisans.
How Our Products Are Made -
Environmentally Friendly Natural Raw Materials
Abaca - Bamboo - Bariw - Buri - Nito Forest Vine - Piña – Raffia
Abaca
Abaca fibre is extracted from the stalk of the abaca plant, a variety of the banana plant, the musa textiles, which is known worldwide as Manila hemp. The abaca plant takes about 18 months to 2 years to mature and become ready for fibre processing. Subsequent harvests are done at 3-4 months interval as longer than this would yield fibre of inferior quality. The processing of abaca fibre is presently done by hand, by extracting the fibres from the trunk of the plant.
The trunk of the mature abaca plant is cut from the base above the root to the top just below the leaves and then peeled of its outer skin and then it is placed in to a hand extraction machine that is made up of a wooden plank and serrated knives. The clamped trunk is hand pulled through this contraption to remove the fleshy resinous material from the fibres. The fibres are then sun dried to whiten them and once dried they are grouped according to thickness as only the finest fibres are used in weaving the abaca cloth.
Different grades of abaca,
pina and raffia fibres Warping Frame
  
Selected fibres are hand knotted individually to form
a long continuous strand ready for the weaving loom.
The selected fibres are hand knotted individually to form one long continuous strand, which is then warped and mounted into the loom. The weft is prepared by winding the abaca fibres onto a bamboo bobbin, which is then ready for hand weaving. A black cloth is placed beneath the loom to help the weaver to see the fibres.
The most commonly used devices in abaca fibre extraction are the hand-hagotan and the spindle-stripping machine. The hand-hagotan consists of a knife, a rest or base and a weight to keep the movable part firmly in position during stripping. The tuxies or leafsheath splits are inserted between the blade and the block, with the basal and towards the stripper at a point about a foot from the base. The foot pedal is then released clamping the tuxy firmly in between. The tuxy is then pulled away from the knife with full force with both hands clasping the tuxy which is wound around a pulling aid. Spindle stripping is a mechanised hand-hagotan with an estimated output that is ten times faster than hand stripping (120 to 190 kg per day). Fibre recovery, ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 per cent. Proper drying techniques contribute to the quality of the fibre, its cleanliness and helps prolong shelf life. After drying the fibres are classified and knotted.
 
Knotted abaca fibres are hand woven on an upright wooden loom.
Prior to weaving the abaca fibres are warped using a warping frame. When the warping process is finished the warp is mounted into the loom and is inserted into a string harness and in the weaving reed. The weft is prepared by winding the abaca fibre on the bamboo bobbin. During the winding process, sand is placed over the bunch of knotted fibres to act as a counter weight with a black cloth beneath the loom to be able to visibly check the fine strand of the fibre clearly. The bobbin is then placed on the wooden shuttle and the weaving process starts. Silk or pina fibre can also be combined with the abaca fibre.
The finished product is abaca cloth, which can be used in the manufacturing for placemats and table linens, cushions, scarves, bags and picture frames among others, and it can embroidered to make it more elegant.
CARE LABEL
Since Abaca cloth is very fine, it should be hand-washed using mild soap and drip-dried and should not be rubbed or twisted. Dry cleaning is another convenient way of maintaining it. It is not advisable but, if machine-washed, only on a gentle cycle for a short time.
The Bamboo
Introduction. Plant is how the bamboo has been described and this characteristic is apparently the basis for the numerous uses to which it has been put and how its role in projecting rural scenes in local landscape has been romanticised. The bamboo is truly prized for its versatility and beauty.
Bamboo grows in areas at sea level and up to 3,200 meters above depending on the species. Universally, bamboo can be found naturally in all continents except Europe and North America. They are naturally distributed in the tropical, sub-tropical and mild temperate zones, occurring more in the tropical belt, and grow within 40 degrees on either side of the equator particularly in the area of the Tropic of Cancer on the northern side and in the Tropic of Capricorn on the southern side.
The Philippines has approximately 62 species of erect bamboo and 19 climbing species but very few species however, have proved commercially important.
The climbing bamboo has a stem that elongates like vine. It is strictly sylvan or found only in forested and over-logged areas.
Uses of bamboo, once looked upon as a lowly plant and called a poor man’s timber because of its widespread use in rural constructions, has gained greater importance through the years.
The bamboo culm is also a popular material for craft items and furniture especially now that the supply of wood and rattan is becoming uncertain making these materials more expensive and their end products becoming inaccessible to the majority of local consumers.
GROWTH AND MATURITY
Height and diameter
Depending on the species, bamboo grows very fast to a height of up to over 30 meters and diameter of up to 20 centimetres, sometimes elongating by as much as 60cm in one day.
 
Maturity
Studies on the culm growth kauayan tinik, a commercial bamboo species, show that it attains its full height in approximately five months.
After attaining full growth, bamboo hardens and matures in 2 to 5 years and is best harvested when 3 years old for maximum utilisation in furniture and construction.
Bariw
Pandanus copelandii (Botanical description)
Pandanus copelandii reaches a height of 3 to 9 meters and the leaves to about 2 to 3 meters long by 5 to 8 centimetres wide with coarse spines along the margins, near the tip. The fruit forms a cylindrical head 7 to 12 centimetres long and 5 to 7 centimetres across. Three to five heads grow on the fruit stalk, which are pale yellow but they soon turn red. It is claimed that bariw fibres are tougher than those from oyango.
Geographic distribution
This species is widely distributed at low and medium altitudes from Northern Luzon to Southern Luzon in the North of The Philippines.
Industrial uses
Bariw leaves are used for making coarse mats and baskets.
Buri
Scientific name – Corypha Elata Roxb
Raffia fibre is gleaned from the leaves of the buri tree, a kind of palm (Talipot palm), which produces three kinds of fibres, the buri, raffia and buntal.
The buri palm is found all over The Philippines and grows both in low and up land and when allowed to grow to its full height, it can reach 40 meters tall. Propagation is by seed and the palm can live to about 30 years and it is only when it is about to die that it flowers and produces seeds.
The palm has many uses and depending on which part of the plant and the age at which it is gathered, yields midrib for furniture, whole leaf for baskets and mats, vascular bundles for bags and epidermis for dolls and woven material.
Fully mature leaves yield midribs for furniture and buntal fibre for hats by scraping the leaf from the midrib and after the midrib is cleaned and dried it is tied to a frame to make furniture like peacock and barrel chairs. The petiole of the fully mature leaf contains strong vascular bundles, which are extracted by removing the skin of the petiole to expose the bundles, which are boiled and then soaked in water to make them white and this is commercially called buntal fibre.
%20resized.JPG) Tissue box made from buri
The unopened leaf can be treated and worked in two ways. Firstly, the whole leaf can be separated from the midrib and after treatment, cut into strips called buri, which can be hand woven into bags, hats and placemats. Secondly, after the leaf is separated from the midrib, the lower and upper epidermis is separated from each other. The lower epidermis, called ‘yapnis’ in Aklan, is soft and relatively easy to dye, while the upper epidermis, called ‘kis-kis’, is thick and stiff and does not absorb dye as readily as the yapnis. ‘Yapnis’ and ‘kis-kis’ together are called raffia.
When used whole, raffia is called raffia fibre in the local market and when the fibre is combed into very fine strips and woven, it is called raffia roll.
The raffia fibres are exposed after
splitting the layers of the leaf…
and the epidermis is combed to extract the fibres.
Producing raffia roll involves many steps, which after combining the fibre called ‘kusi’, is knotted end to end and takes one person 2 weeks to knot enough kusi to make a roll 10 yards long and 27 inches wide. After the knotting, the fibre is warped, which takes about 2 to 3 hours and then it is placed into the loom. Loom dressing can then take as much as one or two days and an expert weaver can finish a natural roll, 360” x 27” in about two and half days.
Raffia roll can made into place mats and table runners, lampshades and hats and bags and can also be used to cover boxes, picture frames, mirrors and desk sets.
Handmade Paper of Abaca and Salago Fibres
The handmade paper is manufactured from indigenous materials using friendly methods and materials, utilising 100% non-woodpulp materials in the product line from the start and dyed using biodegradable components, used for gift items and decorative accents.
The bulk of raw materials used are vegetable fibres from bushes or herbs supplemented by agricultural by-products like rice straw and banana plant stalks to provide variety in texture and accent.
 
The two main fibres used in our paper line-up are abaca and salago. The salago (Wikstroemia spp.) is gleaned from the salago bush, a sturdy shrub that that can withstand droughts or floods and is abundant throughout the Philippines. All four species are used for our papers. It provides excellent durability and is used routinely in the manufacture of currency and security paper, stencils, fishing lines and nets and even Japanese sliding doors (shoji) and kimonos. The bark, from which the paper is made, is extracted by either hand-stripping it from the stem or steaming it, to separate it from the pith.
Abaca fibre is gleaned from the herb called abaca (musa textilis) or manila hemp and has proven its strength and durability through time as the traditional material used in heavy duty ropes and sacks. It is also woven into both coarse and fine fabrics for use in handicraft as well as for Filipino traditional formal apparel.
Sinamay
Sinamay is abaca fibre woven into a delicate translucent fibre and hand-embroidered for use as decorative accents and in formal gowns and the local formal men’s apparel in The Philippines called barong tagalog.
Nito Forest Vine
Family name: Schizaeaceae
Genus: Lygodium
Four species of nito grow in the Philippines, which are known for their vine stems and used for basket and hat production. The most common and widely known and used among these species is Lygodium circinatum.
Description
Nito is a climbing, slender fern belonging to the Schizaeaceae family and it is actually the leaf that climbs.
Location
This climbing fern is very common in The Philippines at low and medium altitudes and grows over shrubs and high into trees and prefers shady places not directly exposed to the sun, such as forests and is most often found close to springs and streams.
Harvest
Nito is easy to grow from shoots of neighbouring vines and is harvested from the age of six months onwards by pulling out the root re-growth will be thinner, if the vine is cut and the colour at this age is green, which darkens to brown and eventually black, as the vine gets older.
 
Harvested Nito Forest Vine
Usage
Nito was traditionally used for baskets to collect vegetables and fruits and also as decoration on bamboo and buri baskets.
Today nito basket ware is highly valued for its fine spliced weaving and natural colour variations and weavers apply their traditional skills and materials to contemporary designs for tableware and home accessories.
Piña
Ananas comosus (Linn) Merr
Bromeliaceae
Pineapple
Pina fibre is extracted from the leaves of a pineapple plant known scientifically as Ananas Comosus Merr and the native or ‘Red Spanish’ variety particularly, have leaves that yield excellent fibres for hand weaving, which are harvested 24 months after planting.
The leaves of some varieties of pina reach two meters in length and plants developed for fibre production have only small sour fruits which are cut from the plants before ripening.
Pina plant of the Red Spanish variety…
characterised by small fruit with long leaves
Pineapple fibres are off-white and soft and fine and as human hair. The extraction of the fibres is a lengthy process and requires an experienced hand. Traditional methods involve scraping the resinous part of the leaf from the fibres with pottery shards and tools made of coconut hull.
Pina fibre is hand extracted from the leaves of mature pina plant.
After scraping off the top flesh of the leaf the fibres are
slowly pulled out to separate them from the rest of the leaf.
The fibres are extracted from the leaves by scraping off the green resinous material, and washed in running water to remove plant juices and other resinous materials, which may affect its colour and strength. The fibres are then fully sun-dried and knotted. During the knotting process, each fibre is extracted singly from the bunch and painstakingly knotted end to end to form a long continuous strand.
Selected pina fibres are individually separated and tied to a stick…
and then painstakingly knotted end to end.
Prior to weaving, the pina fibres are warped using a warping frame and then mounted onto the loom and inserted into the string harness and in the weaving reed. The weft is prepared by winding the pina fibre on the bamboo bobbin. During the winding process, sand is placed over the bunch of knotted fibres to act as a counter weight with a black cloth beneath the loom to be able to visibly check the fine strand of the fibre clearly. The bobbin is then placed on the wooden shuttle and the weaving process starts. Silk or abaca fibre can also be combined with the pina fibre.
 
Knotted pina fibres are hand woven on an upright wooden loom.
The knotted pina fibres are hand woven on an upright wooden loom and the finished product is pina cloth, which can be used as material for clothes, table linens, scarves and hankies among others and to make it more elegant, embroidery can be added.
It is a strong fabric when woven, and can last a hundred years and it is considered as the cloth of love because it requires tender patience and utmost care to weave the cloth.
Pina material in finer detail – the finishing touches
Natural pina scarf
CARE LABEL
Since the material is very fine, it must be hand-washed using mild soap and drip-dried and should not be rubbed or twisted. Dry cleaning is another convenient way of maintaining it.
Raffia
Raffia fibre is gleaned from the leaves of the buri palm (corypha elata).
Raffia is stripped from the young shoot or leaf (buntal) of the palm and is commercially traded in bleached or unbleached form and is usually woven for conversion into various handicraft products.
First in fibre extraction is the removal of the midrib from the young leaf (buntal). Using a comb, the leaves are stripped into fibres and washed in running water and sun-dried.
Prior to weaving, the raffia fibres are warped using a warping frame and then mounted onto the loom the warp and inserted into the string harness and in the weaving reed. The weft is prepared by winding the raffia fibre on the bamboo bobbin. During the winding process, sand is placed over the bunch of knotted fibres to act as a counter weight with a black cloth beneath the loom to be able to visibly check the fine strand of the fibre clearly. The bobbin is then placed on the wooden shuttle and the weaving process starts.
The finished product is raffia cloth, which can be used as material for clothes, table linens, place mats, cushions, bags and picture frames among others.
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