Photo: Ikat textile, approx. 130 cm (h) x 80 cm (w), cotton, plain weave, embroidery, warp faced, natural dyes. Kiangan, Ifugao, Philippines. Photo by: B. Lynne Milgram, 2018.
From Household to Digital Sales:
Marketing Contemporary Textiles in the Northern Philippines
In the northern upland Philippines textile production continues as a viable livelihood as artisans integrate this work with their domestic, cultivation, and part-time jobs. While the majority of weavers are women, some men are also starting to weave. Drawing on long-term fieldwork in the Philippine Cordillera, I explore the channels artisans use to market their contemporary textiles. These include household sales and marketing through cooperatives, social entrepreneurs, and the internet. I analyze how artisans can realize new marketing opportunities while navigating the challenges of shifting raw material availability, labour conditions, consumer demand, and maintaining local cultural identity in contemporary production. Given irregular government support, I suggest that artisans’ advocacy is a major driver fashioning Cordillera textiles’ perseverance in today’s locally-grounded yet globally-connected world.
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