Tubigon, Bohol — On September 9, 2025, the Nueva Vizcaya delegation continued their Trade Techno Mission – Benchmarking Activity with a visit to the Tubigon Loomweavers Multi-Purpose Cooperative located in Barangay Pinayagan Norte, Tubigon, Bohol, a community enterprise sustaining the century-old tradition of raffia loom weaving.
Loom weaving has been practiced across the province of Bohol for generations, primarily by women while men are engaged in farming, trading, and fishing. Despite limited access to formal education, the loom weavers of Tubigon are highly skilled artisans whose craft has become a vital source of livelihood and cultural pride.
The cooperative supplies raffia-based woven products both locally and globally, showcasing how traditional weaving can evolve into a competitive industry. In addition to Pinayagan Norte, loom weaving is also widely practiced in the neighboring barangays of Pinayagan Sur, Norte, and Iligan Sur, where households contribute to production.
Behind every raffia product lies a story of community resilience and painstaking labor. The process begins with harvesting buri palm leaves, which are stripped and sun-dried to produce beige fibers. These are sorted by texture, length, and shape before undergoing dyeing and tying into long spools, hanks, or braids. Finally, through wooden looms, the raffia fibers are woven into tablemats, bags, and other artisanal goods. Each piece narrates the history of a craft that not only preserves cultural heritage but also feeds households and sustains future generations.
For the Nueva Vizcaya delegates, the visit emphasized the importance of community-based industries in driving sustainable livelihoods, cultural preservation, and women empowerment. The Tubigon Loomweavers Cooperative serves as a model of how traditional skills can be elevated into viable economic enterprises while maintaining deep ties to heritage and identity.
The activity aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). By learning from Bohol’s weaving communities, the Nueva Vizcaya delegation aims to explore how indigenous crafts in their own province can be further strengthened as part of inclusive local economic development.
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