The BIBAK group in Switzerland perform during the Philippine Independence day. Video courtesy of igorotland.
Here’s a story about a kailiyan from Sablan who is making money by selling used clothes (a.k.a. wagwag a.k.a ukay ukay) on e-bay. Maybe I should open an account with e-bay and start selling things through the internets, eh? Hmm, since I now have a paypal account, I just might do that. Pero ano kaya, mabenta? The world famous Sagada marijuana? Or sayote kaya?
‘Ukay’ fashion goes e-Bay
By Vincent Cabreza/Inquirer
BAGUIO CITY—“Where in this country can you sell a whole wardrobe reconstituted from ukay-ukay (secondhand bargain clothes) fabrics for under $400 (P16,000)?”
Check out the online trading over at eBay. For the last six years, a stylist from Sablan town in Benguet has used the Internet to market Baguio’s underground wagwag (a local term for ukay-ukay) and the Benguet weaving fabrics popularized in the 1970s and 1980s by businesswoman Narda Capuyan.
Hilson Busoy, 36, says women and gay men from the United States have found a taste for the Baguio-bred fashion, and have tried to outbid one another for such simple things as blouses put together from discarded Versace fabrics and lined with woven ikat.
Busoy grew up in a town that has yet to find its identity. Sablan is only an hour’s drive from the summer capital, but unlike other Baguio neighbors like the vegetable-trading town of La Trinidad or the mining town of Itogon, the community’s primary trade is banana.
“I am a businessman. I know what sells,” Busoy says. This real-world acumen is what drew him to eBay.
Continue Reading…
Here’s a story written by a kailiyan which pretty much reflects the experience of thousands of Igorots/iCordilleras and millions of Filipinos who, despite their misgivings, end up working abroad. Our best wishes, Rolly.
Originally published in the Inquirer’s Youngblood section:
Patriotic doubts
By Rolly Allan Matinek
Little did I know that one day I would join the ranks of Filipinos dispersed around the world, who now make up more than 10 percent of the Philippine population. While it is no secret that most Filipinos harbor the desire to get out of the country in the hope of improving themselves and upgrading their socio-economic status and living standards (as well as that of their families), it was not really my “cup of tea”—as they say here in England—to work abroad.
On board an international flight with a one-way ticket, my priced laptop and my passport stamped with a foreign visa, I still could not believe that I had turned my back on my idealism. I love my country, especially my little town of Sagada in northern Philippines; and I consider myself a patriot. If I try giving this as a reason for not leaving the country to someone I meet on the street, I’d be met with rolling eyes and be called crazy. Every time a colleague or a friend left Philippine shores for the same job but with a much better compensation abroad, I wished him all the best, yet at the same time felt not a pang of envy, only sadness for the loss of one more talent.
Continue Reading…
We’re a fan of Minnie Bulong. You’ll also become a fan if you watch the video above as well as her other Youtube videos: Usapang Tsismis and Eigen Uitspraak. Fun and entertaining, no?
According to her Youtube profile, Minnie is from Ifugao who currently lives in the Netherlands. She has a blog here, for those who understand Dutch. Thanks Minnie. We heart your videos.
Is she by any chance a kailiyan? Kasla met taga Cordi ti style ken features na. What do you think?
Note: This is actually my unsubtle way of expressing support for Obama :-)
Hey kailiyans in the U.S. did you know that those carvings of Native American chiefs came from Ifugao. Really? Maybe not all of them but some of them are. From Jennie Durant who was a Peace Corp Volunteer in Ifugao:
Ever wonder where those impressive, six foot tall Native American chief carvings come from? The ones you see in New Mexico and Arizona when you’re on a road trip through the Southwest?
I never thought about it, honestly, I suppose I assumed they were carved by Native Americans. Well, the other day I was bumping along in a tricycle on my way to a barangay called Kiangan. I was looking around, enjoying the scenery—the overhang of green, the small shops along the road, the mothers standing outside chatting with their children on their hips. We passed a carving shop, and under the cover of a tarp I saw a three foot tall Native American head, complete with an elaborate headdress. I was completely stunned. Did I see that right? What was a Native American chief carving, complete with an elaborate headdress, doing in Ifugao?
Read the whole post here. Hah, didn’t we tell you that Native Americans are our long lost relatives (like 56th degree cousin or something). We’re brothers/sisters forever as Renaldo Lapuz would say.
Kudos to Arcelie Laoagan’s employer, Western Canadian, for setting up a trust fund for Arcelie. According to the company, the fund raised “will be used to cover funeral expenses and transportation costs to the Philippines which will total about $15,000. Donations surpassing the $15,000 mark will be put into an account for Arcelie’s children to help continue her dream of bringing her boys to Canada.”
To date over $20,000 have been donated to the fund. Visit West Canadian’s site to see how you can contribute.
ERRATUM: Contrary to an OWWA officer’s report as quoted by the Inquirer (and which we republished here), Arcelie Laoagan is not from Sagada, Mt. Province. She was born in Naguilian, Isabela and lived in Santa Cruz, Ilocos Sur with her husband and children. Thanks to Samuel Cabrera for the clarification.
