A Promise of Commitment: VESTI x Yakan Weaving Village
by Martha Rodriguez
When I started doing VESTI, I had one mission: to help the Mindanao weavers exit poverty through showcasing their beautiful handwoven fabrics. By showcasing, it has to be purchased directly from them without any haggles of wholesale prices or reduced rates. All fabrics are bought fair and square down to the last centavo.
One of the Mindanaonon-group of weavers are the Yakans. The Yakan weavers were originally from Basilan and have migrated to Zamboanga. They have built their homes around weaving centers and selling spaces in the Yakan Village all these years.
My first solo visit to the Yakan Village was in 2012 when I eagerly booked a flight from Manila to Zamboanga. I contacted a friend who lived there and he patiently accompanied me to them. Over the years, I have visited them several times and met a lot of weavers to whom I shared personal relationships with. A few have passed on, a few have started their own families, and a few had their daughters and sons taught to weave.
After the May 9 elections, I sincerely felt the need to visit them and see how they are doing. Luckily, I was able to meet them all at the Yakan Weaving Village in Zamboanga last May 18, 2022.
I travelled for 12-hours from Cagayan de Oro to Zamboanga by land.
I was nervous in meeting them in person because I had budget constraints and might not be able to buy fabrics from every weaver.
With sales running very very low, one biggest facets of the challenge during the pandemic is to be able to purchase as many fabrics as I can from the VESTI sales. I would wake up worrying how to pay my suppliers and how to strategize my next move. I would be so frustrated that many inquiries did not translate to sales. I would gather in the team, share our sentiments, hit rock bottom, let out my tears and call it a day. I was always close to just quitting; But it turned out -- I just needed to take a personal leave, for a day or two and found myself going back to the VESTI showroom the next day.
As I scanned through the Yakan Village, what was meaningful to me was seeing more junior weavers taking part in weaving the Mindanaonon culture and preserving their roots. They were explaining that their goals are to continue weaving, finish their studies, and help improve the lives of their families. They took their roles very seriously positioning themselves as the future of Yakan weaving. They were so proud in wearing their traditional costumes for our visit to be regarded as a special occasion. There were short glances and impromptu discussions like, what their favorite pattern is, or how young they started weaving and what they usually think about when they are weaving.
I showed them our VESTI bags with the Yakan fabrics incorporated in the collections. They were really happy. Compared notes to other weavers with laughter and deeply appreciative of us helping their community.
Photos were taken and memories shared.
The Yakan weavers have a collected sense of pride, joy and hope.
I realized that my mission now is just to be myself, to create bag pieces as myself, of what I know, of my roots and what keeps me going:
“Ako po si Martha Rodriguez. Ipinanganak sa Cagayan de Oro. Isang Mindanaonon bag designer sa Vesti. Eto po ang mga ginagawa namin na bags na may Yakan fabrics na hinabi niyo. Nakaka-kilig tingnan ang mga gawang likhang kamay at kayo po ang tunay na bayani at bida sa kuwento nang mga bags namin."
I found myself hugging the weavers and they too, hugged back. I felt that they were instinctively cheering me on. A validation that I needed to stay on with a braver heart.
I continue to do VESTI because I believe in our Mindanao craftsmanship and how our Mindanano weaves should take centerstage — globally.
