Asin bamboo products promoted worldwide

By Dexter A. See 

BAGUIO CITY – The Philippine Bamboo Foundation (PBF) has started buying bamboo craft products of the newly organized Asin Bamboo Carvers Guild to provide displaced wood carvers livelihood and market for their novelty products.

           

Edgardo Manda, PBF president, said the foundation will be purchasing the most competitive and attractive works of the bamboo carvers to for marketing and promotion of their works to national and international markets.

            

“We want our bamboo carvers to have trust and confidence in our bid to support them through thick and thin. We started our assistance to them by helping them organize themselves and teach them the appropriate quality control for their products,” Manda said.

           

He added the top ten bamboo craft works are assured of P5,000 each but the amount could increase depending on how the works are sold in trade fairs and exhibits around the global village.

            

According to Manda, selected bamboo carvings will be exhibited in various parts of the world to gather orders for the bamboo carvers to produce and ensure handcrafted products will have a place in the world market.

            

Manda said since the pictures of the bamboo crafts were posted in the different social networking sites, numerous inquiries from other countries like Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Equador, Spain, United States, Italy and other European countries have started flooding their accounts with many foreigners signifying the hand-made products that shall be used as novelty items and decorations in their respective houses and establishments.

            

The idea of purchasing the top ten bamboo crafts from the Asin Bamboo Carvers Guild was brought to the fore by Mr. PrudencioTeodoro, Jr., PBF treasurer,o inspire doubting bamboo carvers there is future for them in the global market once they are able to maintain the quality of their work.

          

“We want to assure our bamboo carvers that our assistance to them will go a long way. We will not leave them behind because it has been our commitment to help the industry grow into a world-class business for the benefit of improving the living condition of their respective families,” Manda said.

The PBF spearheaded the organization of the Asin Bamboo Carvers Guild which is composed primarily of former wood carvers, so that they will have an alternative and sustainable source of income after the wood carving industry suffered a serious setback following the difficulty in getting the necessary supply of wood because of the strict implementation of the Aquino administration’s anti-illegal logging policy.

Manda disclosed the bamboo carvers initially showed a test of their quality control as they were the ones who disqualified one of the ten carvings that were supposed to be purchased since one of them painted his work instead of having it naturally appear as original work, thus, the carvers are now learning the importance of maintaining the quality of their works so that their trade will go a long way.

            

Roldan Pait, president of the Asin Bamboo Carvers Guild, said their partnership with PBF will be a sustainable one since they will give it their best in coming out with quality carvings that will merit the demand of the local and international markets in order to bring back the vibrance of the carving industry in barangay Asin and help uplift the living condition of their respective families.

            

“We are happy that our works are now gaining recognition and many stakeholders are pledging their support to help our group move on to greater heights. Carving is an in born talent for us, thus, we will do everything to preserve, protect and promote it to help uplift our living condition,” Pait said, citing that some of them who ventured to other sources of livelihood like driving had shifted back to carving since it is their comfortable trade.

           

 Manda disclosed the selected bamboo crafts will be displayed in various exhibits nationwide to attract orders and provide the bamboo carvers a sustainable source of income and make bamboo carving a lucrative source of income for the displaced wood carvers in Barangay Asin, Baguio City.