The 14th Likhang Habi Market Fair gathers the country’s best weavers and artisans, bringing traditions to the next generation.
HABI: The Philippine Textile Council is gearing up for this year’s Likhang Habi Market Fair, happening at the Glorietta Activity Center from October 18 to 20, 2024.
This is the 14th time HABI is organizing the event, as part of its mission to preserve, promote, and enhance Philippine textiles through education, communication, and research, using public and private resources.
HABI was established in 2009. “We started it because we realized that there was no textile society in the Philippines,” said HABI founder and chairman emeritus Maria Isabel “Maribel” Ongpin. “The preservation, development and modernization of our Philippine textiles, which are quite varied, quite unique and very colorful, from all over the archipelago.”
Likhang Habi Market Fair was their first project and it has grown so much over the years—from featuring 12 vendors to over a hundred in its recent editions. This year’s fair gathers weavers, artisans, designers and brands from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao—Cordillera, Zamboanga, Ilocos, Socksargen, Negros, Bangsamoro and more.
HABI secretary Rambie Katrina Lim said, “We realized that many of the weavers and crafters are actually quite isolated, so they need a platform to grow and show their product and tell their story. The market fair is a chance for them to interact with a bigger market.”
There are many Likhang Habi Market Fair success stories—artisans who grow from the grassroots to greatness. The passionate women of HABI find joy in witnessing that growth.
“We have a lot of examples of that, like Carlo Eliserio and Raquel Eliserio. Now he’s being invited to and attending international conventions and fairs as well. And he also has a place in a department store now, in Rustan’s. There’s a progression. We really invest and watch our vendors grow,” said HABI president Mia Villanueva, who started her relationship with HABI as a vendor—her bags and accessories brand MCV Designs participates in Likhang Habi Market Fair.
Adelaida Lim, HABI president emeritus said, “We have seen many weavers develop into competent entrepreneurs while improving their craft skills.”
But it’s just one part of what they do.
They’ve published four books on Philippine fabrics and produced three documentaries. They hold the annual Lourdes Montinola Piña Weaving; and the Eloisa Hizon-Gomez Abaca Weaving competitions. They teach and give lectures, connect and collaborate with other organizations here and abroad, and educate about and advocate for Philippine textiles and the people behind them.
The people of HABI “envision a strong Philippine Textile Culture that is vibrant, diverse and very much a part of our modern present” and their work has helped turn that vision into reality.
Thanks to HABI’s efforts, traditional textiles are no longer viewed as just material for native costumes, they’ve become part of daily life, “as contemporary attire with a relevant place in current lifestyles,” Adelaida said.
Another indicator of their success is the growing interest in weaving and Philippine textiles among young people. For a long time, there was concern that weaving was a dying art, that the next generation wasn’t interested in continuing what those before them had started.
One young weaver, LoveLove Monon, granddaughter of Manlilikha ng Bayan Salinta Monon, is featured in HABI’s “Threaded Traditions” documentary “Memoirs of a Textile: Inabal of the Bagobo-Tagabawa.”
Wanting to push for innovation, HABI also decided to create a category in their Piña Weaving Competition for weavers under 30 years old. The year’s Likhang Habi Market Fair theme, “Earth To Loom: Celebrating Natural Dyes in Philippine Textiles,” is something that also speaks to the younger generation, a generation known for their concern about climate change and passion for sustainability.
Maybe it’s the new generation who will make a difference. And HABI is here to help them make it happen.
Visit www.habiphilippinetextilecouncil.com and find HABI: The Philippine Textile Council on Facebook and Instagram (@HABICouncil).
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