TWWA Tagolwanen Handwoven

            The TWWA Tagolwanen Handwoven™ story is very much like its flagship product, the banig.  Founded in May 2012, building this social enterprise is like one sodsod grass thread interwoven with another thread, and another. 

            TWWA is helping revive an almost-lost tradition of weaving intricate design mats together with its 148 active Bukidnon-Tagolwoanen tribe women weavers.  TWWA helps preserve and promote part of the tribe’s cultural identity through weaving. As this is done, it also helps lumad families gain economic independence and contribute to the assertion of their right to self-determination. 

            The Bukidnon-Tagoloanen woven mat, or banig, amazed the founder, Lorielinda Bella Rago-Marte, when she received one from an elder as a wedding gift when she wed one of Bukidnon-Tagolwanen’s tribe leaders, Anilaw Erwin Marte. Lorie marveled at the intricate design of the traditional mat. Together, the husband and wife team talked to the women about how the mats are woven. They were taken aback to learn that the traditional mat weaving was rarely being done, and has almost disappeared. Very few women weave mats for personal use or to sell. Those who do have to struggle with the low prices that customers haggle for, and even then, are paid back on installment terms. One mat is woven for about two weeks, and a weaver has to walk down the mountains to sell it. In the city, it is common for a weaver to be treated with discrimination for being an indigenous person. It was disheartening for a weaver to focus on weaving for income.

            Weaving then was looked down on as an activity of low value, and the same perception went for the mats themselves, despite the intricate artistry and precision skills that go into completing one mat. Confidence was low among the women weavers. Weaving was not something the young Bukidnon-Tagoloanen tribe’s kids were interested to do, more so to become a full-fledged weaver. 

            Lorie’s husband, Anilaw, being a tribe leader himself, was determined to help preserve part of this way of life that his ancestors. He and Lorie coordinated with the women weavers and founded the Tagolwanen Women Weavers Association in May 2012. The association’s mission is straightforward: To preserve and promote the Bukidnon-Tagoloanen tradition through  weaving. The association aims to let as many people know about the Bukidnon-Tagoloanen traditional banig-weaving, and for it to be appreciated not as a historical artifact, but as a daily activity that is part of the lumad identity and culture.         

          The initial game plan is simple: Introduce the mats through social media and ship the mats to any part of the world. TWWA started with one weaver, Aileen. Lorie, based in Bukidnon, would show mats to friends on social media. If anyone was interested, Lorie would ship the banig to any place in the Philippines. Painfully aware of the weavers’ experience in being underpaid, Lorie would make sure each finished mat would be paid fairly upon submission of a finished piece. This fair system resulted to more labor supply. Interest in weaving slowly grew  again. TWWA Enterprise was formed as the association's marketing arm, tasked to market the woven products in the country and around the globe. 

           The intricate designs of the banig, especially from the master weavers, will be a welcome hit worldwide. Slowly the country (and the world) was taking notice of the Bukidnon-Tagoloanen artistry. TWWA weavers started remembering the designs that their mothers and grandmothers made in the past years. The weavers started to exchange knowledge with other weavers. TWWA started providing seminars to help the weavers understand their history, heritage, their womanhood, and their rights as indigenous persons. The weavers were very excited to learn from these seminars. The Bukidnon-Tagolwanen youngsters were intrigued at their mothers’ newfound excitement over weaving. Soon, they too would sneak in weaving some strands of sodsod grass when their mothers would stand up from their work. It was noticeable too that their mother would have spare cash that the children can use to go to school.  

        TWWA is opening paths that let the women weavers slowly see they are capable and productive members and leaders of their community.  

        The weavers would soon learn that they were not just weaving a piece of floor mat. They found that they have to take care of each other in their own barangay, and the other TWWA weavers from other barangays. TWWA has made it a point that weavers coordinate in delivery, packaging, and shipping of products. The women are also involved in product development and innovation to offer a few new products every season. Their help is also entailed in community organizing and association activities. Slowly, the women's confidence were growing. The once timid weaver began getting used to speaking to the barangay, the tribe, and visitors from around the country and from abroad.  

           They were also concerned to have their own sustainable supply of sodsod grass, so the women organized to request and secure plots of land from their ancestral domain. The weavers helped each other secure the land, while their husbands and children cooperated to ready the land for sodsod grass propagation.   

          The indigenous peoples (IP) identity is not just about tradition and customs for daily living, but the IP identity is also tied with the land they live in. With the growing appreciation for weaving, those who used to cut wood in the mountainside to sell now have an alternative way to earn. Who knew an ignored skill like weaving would help preserve the environment as well?  

           Outside the tribe, TWWA has been slowly participating in national and international trade fairs to showcase the Bukidnon-Tagolwanen handmade gain access to the wider market for native products. It has also participated in an ASEAN conference for medium and small enterprises to share their traditional skill and their experience in growing their social enterprise. 

           TWWA has been given the Gawad Gabay award by the National Commission for Culture and Arts in October 2018. It has also been a case study for a UNESCO World Heritage research.  It became the social enterprise top 10 awardee in the business challenge competition of BPI Foundation and bayan Academy in the year 2021.

           To date, TWWA has shipped products to USA, Turkey, Australia and Japan. In 2018, the Intellectual Property Office granted the association the registered trademark for its TWWA Tagolwanen Handwoven brand. In February 2019, TWWA opened its own showroom, pasalubong center, and coffee shop along Sayre Highway in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon. The establishment not only presents the Tagolwanen handwoven products, but also helps showcase to the world the finest products Bukidnon entrepreneurs are offering its tourists.  

           TWWA has gained the continuing support and has forged a partnership with various government agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), as well as private institutions like the Likhang Habi, the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) Foundation, and Bayan Academy, all of whom contributed to the promotion, marketing, and product development of TWWA crafts handwoven by its members and the personal and professional development of weavers.

         TWWA is in the process of building the Weavers Heritage Center with funding support from the Australian Embassy in the Philippines.  The school for living weaving tradition is a focal program of TWWA. It will also be the repository of Bukidnon-Tagoloanen mat weaving documentation from as far back as its history can be traced up to its decade of TWWA history-making.

          In TWWA's 12 years of existence, the proudest achievements that the organization has so far, is opening the way for the Bukidnon-Tagoloanen tribe members, especially the youth, to appreciate its heritage and to be proud that their own traditional handmade creations are recognized as beautiful art in other places. The weavers and their families remain connected to their roots, families, and communities, even with the improvement of living brought about by the banig mats. The children are better able to attend school since they have resources to keep attending. TWWA is very proud that in 2018, the Bukidnon-Tagolwanen tribe has produced 10 college graduates, daughters and sons of weavers. It also has its own second generation of weavers now, daughters that can start and complete their own mats, with one as young as 16 years old. The smaller children have also started learning from their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers. In August 2019, TWWA has started formal weaving training sessions of their young girls and boys.   

       TWWA Tagolwanen Handmade and the Bukidnon-Tagolwanen weavers will continue to weave its organization as one does a banig mat: One grass thread securely locked into the next thread, slowly but surely forming a tapestry that is not only beautiful, but sturdy to surpass challenges through time.