Crafting Success: Empowering Women CraftPreneurs of PABAHANDI Women's Association

What is the PABAHANDI Women's Association?

Pala-o Abaca Handicraft Women’s Association or PABAHANDI Women's Association is a duly registered association of DOLE with an office address at Barangay Hall, Pala-o, Iligan City. Dedicated to empowering women, PABAHANDI brings together skilled artisans proficient in crafting sinamay and other items using Abaca. Beyond fostering craftsmanship, this association serves as a valuable avenue for these women to augment their incomes and achieve financial independence.

Humble Beginnings

PABAHANDI started when the Local Government of Iligan City identified abaca as a major resource of Iligan as its priority project under the One Town One Product (OTOP) Program. National and Local Government units support OTOP as a national initiative for economic development. Thus, DTI organized PABAHANDI for training on handicrafts and weaving to produce abaca sinamay and other products from abaca.

Challenges Faced

Women were provided with abaca fibers to create 'kayukay' for the skilled weavers. They diligently crafted various sizes of abaca ropes and were compensated upon delivering their finished products, thereby supplementing their families' incomes. However, the devastating impact of Super Typhoon Sendong resulted in the loss of all the materials and the collapse of the weavers' homes, causing significant losses for the industry.

Gratefully, the Republic Cement Corporation stepped in by commissioning 1,500 sets of abaca placemats as Christmas tokens for their employees. This order played a role in aiding the recovery from the incurred losses. Big thanks to DTI for their referrals and to the supportive Barangay Captain, Winefredo Neez, whose unwavering assistance bolstered their efforts during this challenging period.

Future Plans

Currently, PABAHANDI offers training and workshops for bag-making, dressmaking, and reflexology mat-making for those interested. PABAHANDI would also like to promote training on export-grade reflexology mats with the assistance of DTI.

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