Woven PH: Empowering Handweavers through Filipino Handicrafts with a Modern Twist

Woven PH is a social enterprise founded in 2016 by John Francia and Trish Lim that aims to uplift the local handweavers in Basey, Samar. The idea for Woven’s social enterprise came as early as 2014, when Francia and Lim both worked in an area development study on Basey, Samar under ABS CBN’s Lingkod Kapamilya initiative headed by the late and former DENR secretary, Gina Lopez. Francia also further immersed himself in the community, joining a Jesuit Volunteer Program assigned to Basey once again.

In this period, Woven PH’s founders were able to organize “community craft associations” composed of local women handweavers to help market and empower the banig-woven products from Basey, Samar. Development of product modules was also done to innovate the traditional handwoven products into more modern designs. Some of Woven PH’s millennial-friendly woven items include tablets, laptops, phones, and gadget sleeves. They also offer handwoven cardholders, apart from the usual fare of bags and wallets.

Filipino handweavers used to earn only P600 monthly, Woven PH wants to show their community craft associations the real value of their handiwork. “For years and years, there has been inequitable distribution in the industry thus limiting the price of weavers’ creations at a very unfair amount. This inequality has contributed to the art of weaving becoming a dying craft. With Woven, we wanted to show them the real value of their craft while still keeping it alive,” Woven co-founder and CEO Trish Lim says.

Woven PH aims to continue to help the local communities of Basey through its weaving and embroidery industry and its artisanal weavers. “As a social enterprise, we don’t just buy and sell; we design for the community. We don’t just provide employment and market access to weavers; we rig the industry in their favor,” says Woven PH’s statement.

Lim also touches on their enterprise’s “Woven on the Move” project, where they bring local Basey weavers to schools in Manila so they can promote the cultural heritage and importance of weaving to kids.

With Woven PH’s humble beginnings in the Basey community, the social enterprise aims to explore and uplift many more weaving communities in the Philippines and to eventually become creators of modern, high-quality, and marketable handicrafts with Filipino handweaving techniques and materials.

Source: Nomadic Experiences, Woven PH