Burgos launches Broom Caravan

BURGOS, La Union — Broom-makers of this town were acknowledged in  launching of the first  “Broom Caravan” last week in front of the Municipal Hall, here.

Locally known “boyboy,” soft brooms expertly crafted from 12 barangays take center stage in the booth devoted to the promotion of this town’s No. 1 product.

The boyboy industry is the source of livelihood of up to 70 percent of the residents here, said Mayor Robert Madarang Jr. so the Broom Caravan is just a fitting tribute to them for the makers of “the best soft brooms in the country.”

“This town had been known as a producer of quality brooms, but we want to improve it further and organize the broom makers to make their prices uniform and allow everyone to earn more,” Madarang said.

Madarang was joined by Department of Tourism Region 1 Director Martin Valera in opening of the Broom Caravan booth where quality and colorful brooms can be bought.

Martin said the caravan will help the industry especially so, the cooperation, unity and participation of the stakeholders are into place and this would also allow tourists to visit the place.

Although this town is only a 30-minute drive from Baguio City via Naguillian Road, Madarang admitted that this fifth class town does not have the funds to boost the industry, so an event such as this hopes to reel in support and assistance of other local governments and national agencies in terms of training on product improvement and marketing.

He said the “Boyboy Festival” was conceptualized to announce to the world that the municipality is one of the main sources of tiger brooms of high quality.