Calatrava Pandan Bags: Weaving Its Way to the Export Market

When you want export quality pandan products, the best place to go to is the Municipality of Calatrava in Negros Occidental.  The town is not only known for its monkeys but also for the skillfully handcrafted pandan products such as bags and mats that are being exported. In fact, pandan products are the One Town, One Product (OTOP) of the town. Calatrava pandan bags and mats are consistent best-sellers during the Panaad Festival held every summer.

Calatrava pandan weavers are numbering by the hundreds and this is a major source of livelihood for the people of Calatrava especially the women. During off-milling season of sugar, the men also help in the weaving and the children are likewise involved. It’s really a family affair where they can bond and be productive at the same time.  Some form cooperatives while others work individually and often sell their products to middlemen or consolidators.

Calatrava is very fortunate that its soil has a high concentration of limestone (igang) which is ideal for pandan to grow. Pandan grows wild in Calatrava’s upland areas and even near the sea. Women even weave inside caves that can be found near the shores when temperatures outside gets really hot in the summer.

Pandan weaving is really simple if you have the patience. Pandan is stripped to the desired size and air-dried. After stripping, pandan is either woven as is or dyed first in order to come up with colorful products. Pandan is usually mixed with other materials such as wood, leather, cloth, and other natural fibers.

It’s not easy to get the output with the right quality but the skills can be acquired and will get better with practice. Through the years, the weavers have developed their skills which are reflected in the intricate designs of their products. A bag that is triple-weave has three layers of pandan leaves woven on top of the other. Nobody can say exactly when this industry started but the skill has been handed down from generations. Very young children learn to weave while they watch their mother work at home.

The products you can usually find in Calatrava are modern bayongs, ladies handbags, and mats. Exporters from Bacolod and Cebu also sub-contract the weaving or even the finished products from Calatrava pandan weavers.  Their products are world class but our small producers do not have the capacity to market their products abroad. That’s where the middlemen come in, by bridging the gap between the producers and the buyers.

There are a lot of pandan weavers in the country but the quality of the products from Calatrava stands out. The weave is neat, not too tight nor loose, and the pandan leaves properly dried. Most designs are provided by the buyers and if they don’t have an agreement, the designs are also available to the local market.

Where to buy Calatrava pandan bags & mats

Bulk Orders/Wholesale

You can contact the Office of the Municipal Mayor of Calatrava to facilitate orders for you. They can refer you to cooperatives and weavers association where you can order in bulk. Direct buyers can get the products at really rock-bottom price and you can even customize your order.

You may contact the Office of the Mayor at telephone  number (034) 7277283.

Retail

1. You can buy Calatrava pandan bags and mats at the Bacolod Central Market where these are sold at very affordable prices. The products usually don’t have a brand name but most of the pandan products sold in the local market came from Calatrava.
2. The Negros Occidental Technology and Livelihood Development Center (NOTLDC) Showroom also displays and sells the pandan products from Calatrava. You can also contact them for referrals to producers and they can also facilitate bulk orders. You may contact NOTLDC at (034) 4323414.
3. Export quality pandan bags can also be bought from the Association of Negros Producers (ANP). These bags maybe under different brand names but chances are, the weaving is done by Calatrava pandan weavers. The price maybe a little stiff compared to the ones at the Central Market but the designs are really meant for the high-end market. The producers also receive bulk orders. You may visit the Negros Showroom along Lacson Street in front of the Philippine National Bank.

Online

• In an interview with Janet Toral of Digital Filipino, online entrepreneur Jovel Cipriano of pinoydelikasi.com recently announced his plan of launching pandan bags and mats from Calatrava for the export market in the first quarter of 2011. The products will be under the brand name TravaBags, after the town of Calatrava.

TravaBag image taken from Digital Filipino