IN PINILI, Ilocos Norte, National Living Treasure Magdalena Gamayo is once more weaving with Philippine cotton. At the age of 100, her hands remain steady, creating swathes of inabel, a traditional Ilocano textile.
This return to Philippine cotton — after a long period when weavers had to make do with imported cotton or synthetic thread — marks a blend of heritage and innovation.
On Feb. 12, in celebration of National Arts Month, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI), provided nine kilos of brown and six kilos of white ring-spun Philippine cotton yarns to the Gamaba Weavers Association, an association of weavers who have been awarded the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan (Gamaba) or National Living Treasures Award. This initiative is meant to revive Philippine cotton in order to boost local textiles, cut imports, and promote sustainability, providing weavers with quality, sustainable yarns.
The Gamaba Weaving Association, based at the Gamaba Cultural Center, is one of the first communities selected for DOST-PTRI’s yarn deployment. The field trials allow weavers to assess the yarn’s quality, ensuring alignment with traditional techniques before commercialization.
For generations, inabel weaving has featured patterns like binakol, inuritan, kusikos, and Inubon a Sabong. Using the DOST-PTRI-developed cotton yarn, Ms. Gamayo is now weaving inunsoy, a stripe-patterned weave.
“This is a weaving movement in which we ask communities to validate with us whether cotton can be used for weaving. We seek feedback as it allows us to adjust the specifications of the cotton yarns,” DOST-PTRI Director Julius L. Leaño, Jr., was quoted as saying in a press release.
The weavers will help refine the DOST-PTRI-developed yarns, ensuring that they align with traditional weaving standards. By actively weaving with these new yarns and providing feedback, they contribute to R&D, bridging innovation and heritage.
Gamaba awardee Magdalena Gamayo weaves Philippine cotton again
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