Who would have thought that from a provincial setting, far from more marketable cities, there is a hidden art of embroidery that redefined womanhood in the municipality of Santa Barbara in the Province of Iloilo.
In the tranquil and historic town of Santa Barbara, there is an organization called Women United Through Handcrafted Lace and Embroidery (WUTHLE). The group is composed entirely of women with ages ranging from 38 to 75, and who all possess exceptional skills in fabric and textile embroidery.
Their masterpieces are akin to hidden gems. But once you find them, it gives you more than a treasure. For every delicate lace and intricate stitch, there is a story of resilience, a bond of sisterhood, and a blueprint for a better future.
The said masterpiece is bobbin lace, known for its elaborate braid or weaving pattern.
In the 1980s, missionary sisters from the Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM) congregation from Belgium, led by Sister Madeleine Dieryck, ICM, visited Santa Barbara, where they introduced and taught the art of “bobbin lace” making.
Bobbin lace is a handcrafted embroidery that needs extreme precision with careful weaving and intricate use of holes to form the lace pattern. It also requires more than just a keen eye. It demands a soul that understands the value of time.
That’s why for the members of WUTHLE, this is not just for their past time but it’s for their livelihood earned from patient, creative, and hard work.
DSWD’s SLP impact
In 2018, the organization became beneficiaries of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP). The SLP provides capacity building activities and grants a non-collateral and zero-interest seed capital fund (SCF) as start-up capital to fund a community business and buy raw materials, small equipment, or initial stock.
Through the program, the organization was able to access high-quality materials and better equipment so that they could scale up their production without sacrificing the “handcrafted” soul of their products.
Beyond the needle, the program equipped them with financial literacy and marketing skills, turning artisans into entrepreneurs. Helping them to provide market linkages to sell the products by connecting the group with trade fairs and local buyers.
At the back of the Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital, you will find a simple and almost aged room where the WUTHLE members master their bobbin lace handicraft.
With their location, it is impossible to attract more buyers and it also blocks the way to sustainability. Like a frayed thread, the livelihood of these artisans faced challenges of funding and market reach, especially in the local market.
But with the help of new technology, they can now sell their products out of the country.
“Sa local market medyo hindi masyado yung ano nila dito yung marketing pero talaga nakakarating yung mga products nila sa abroad,” said Lydia Symora, Project Development Officer (PDO) II of the DSWD Field Office (FO) 6 – Western Visayas.
The next generation
One of the challenges is on how to pass the skills weaved by experience to the next generation now that members are getting older– and this is where the SLP intervention came in to take the lead in skills training.
“At present may mga challenges din si LGU kasi tumatanda na sino kaya ang pwedeng mga mas bata na pwedeng i-train o bigyan ni LGU ng mga skills enhancement training para ma-continue natin ang embroidery,” Lany Somcio of the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office of Santa Barbara told DSWD’s Kwento ng Pag-asa at Pagbabago (KPAP) team.
One of the features of the program under the micro-enterprise development track is skills training, wherein the DSWD provides financial support for technical-vocational training to ensure the sustainability of the business.
The true success of the bobbin lace making in Santa Barbara is not only measured by its profit and income, but by how the program impacted the families of the women-artisans. All of these bobbin lace women-weavers were able to send their children to school and help their life become better.
Most importantly, the traditional art of bobbin lacemaking is no longer at risk of fading away. By turning this craft into a viable profession and livelihood, the youth of Santa Barbara now look at embroidery not as a relic of the past, but as a prestigious skill worth learning and preserving.
Today, Santa Barbara stands proud as a hub for world-class craftsmanship. The delicate lace produced by WUTHLE is a symbol of the Ilongga spirit—gentle yet firm, traditional yet transformative.
The story of these women is a powerful reminder that when heritage is met with the right support and opportunity, it creates a tapestry of change that can uplift an entire town where needle does not only mend clothes, it also mends lives.
The #KPAP — the DSWD’s award winning online documentary – is a joint production of the Traditional Media Service (TMS) and the Digital Media Service (DMS) which are under the Strategic Communications. It is hosted by Information Officer Bianca Piedad-Tamondong and is posted every Tuesday on the DSWD’s official Facebook page. (NT)
