Our Crafts » The Woven Republic

The process of making a masterpiece

The Pandan Process

Our Pandan bags are made from the leaves of Pandanus also called screw pine. Pandanus is a genus of monocots of about 600 known species, varying in size from small shrubs less than a meter to medium-sized trees of about 20 meters. It is characterized by its abundant leaves spirally crowded towards the ends of its branches. The leaves are green, long, linear, and slender growing up to 1.5 meters long, three to five centimetres wide.

In the Philippines there are 48 species of Pandanus that are endemic, growing in various habitats, from sandy beaches, mangroves and primary forests. Pandan leaves are locally known for their fragrance and are widely used in culinary dishes in Southeast Asian countries.

1 Harvesting

Harvesting involves manual cutting of the leaves from the pandan plant, then cleaned and thorns removed.

2 Stripping

The leaves are split into different widths depending on the product or pattern that will be woven.

3 Drying & Dyeing

The cut leaves are dried in the sun and allowed to wilt.

In order to make colourful designs, the leaves are dyed first and dried again before they are ready for use in weaving.

4 Weaving

Weaving is called “paglala” by the local people.

The beautiful and unique patterns are woven manually by local artisans with skill refined through the years.

Then they are hand over to sewers who put together all the pieces to create a masterpiece.

The Abaca Process

Our Abaca products are made from Musa textilis (also called Manila hemp), a species of banana tree native to the Philippines, grown for its textile, rope and papermaking fibre.

The plant grows to 13–22 feet (4.0–6.7 m) and averages about 12 feet (3.7 m). Harvesting abaca is labour intensive and mostly done by hand. Abaca can produce 7 natural shades from the dark brown outer layers to the white inner layers. The white fibre can be dyed to produce any other colour.

1 Harvesting

Harvesting process starts with cleaning the surrounding area to ensure that the abaca plant remains healthy and viable. Using a sharp, curved knife fastened at the tip of a long pole, the leaves of the stalk are cut. Topping eases harvesting and minimizes the damage on other plants. Then tumbling the stalks with the use of a sharp bolo. After tumbling, all cut stalks are piled together in one spot where the next step is to be done.

2 Tuxying

Tuxying is the process of separating the outer layer from the inner layer of the stalk. It is done by inserting a tuxy knife between the layers and then flipping with a vigorous jerk to completely separate the outer layer. The outer layer is pried loose and discarded and the next leaf sheath then becomes ready for tuxying. The different groups of tuxies produce distinct grades of fiber. The outermost leaf sheaths exhibit brown portions. The middle layers carry tinges of light green or streaks of purple. The inner layers are ivory to white in color.

3 Extraction & Drying

Hand Stripping is a fully manual process of extracting fiber which uses a device made up of a movable knife, a knife rest or base, and a weight to keep the movable portion firmly in position as stripping is performed. In this method, the tuxies or leaf sheath splits are inserted between a block and the stripping knife which can be either serrated or non-serrated. The foot pedal is then released to clamp the tuxy firmly into place. The stripper then pulls the tuxy away from the knife with full force, both hands clasping the tuxy wound around a wooden pulling aid.

4 Weaving

This is the process where a horizontal two-bar or two-beamed loom is connected in the upper part of the bamboo beam of the longhouse and a back strap is attached in the lower back of the weaver. The dried fibers are then weaved into the design that they want, following different guidelines and techniques depending on what form or design of abaca bag is desired.