Narda's

Narda's is the project of Wilson and Narda Capuyan that started in 1972 in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines weaving blankets from recycled acrylic yarns. Narda Capuyan, a family planning nurse whose hand-knitting hobby attracted the mothers, encouraged the women to weave to keep them busy from making more babies. Weaving is a traditional skill and our indigenous women have now become productive weavers. Through series of experimentation, Narda revived the Cordilleran Ikat Tradition designing and dyeing threads in vibrant colors to suit contemporary taste. Ikat is a very old tradition designing, dyeing segments of threads before actual weaving. Narda's new style of Ikat in place mats, shawls and bags became a hit to foreign buyers. The highly innovative direction that the work has taken garnered for Narda's numerous awards for entrepreneurial excellence and for reviving a dying indigenous art. Leonard O. Capuyan was named the Ernst & Young Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year in October 2013 under the auspices of EY Global SGV Foundation. It is the wold's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. Narda's continue to provide livelihood to women weavers in the Cordilleras.