When it comes to handwoven textile production in the Philippines, the process is a slow and tedious one. From harvesting crops from which fiber for weaving will be stripped, to knotting and tying each fiber, it can take months before a final fabric or garment is produced.

“It’s tedious because it’s done by hand,” said Anna India Dela Cruz-Legaspi, a piña weaver who has been weaving for more than 20 years. “No gadgets [are] used. You can finish making one-fourth meter of pure piña fabric per day.”

That’s a little less than 10 inches per day.

Similarly, another tradition, the weaving of the t’nalak, a tapestry made by the T’Boli tribe in Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, takes one-and-a-half months to complete four meters (about 13 feet and 1 inch), said Bernadeth Ofong, a master T’boli weaver who has had more than 30 years of experience in the craft.

Yet despite the time it takes to create fabric using this method, weaving is a tradition deeply rooted in many Philippine communities and one the country is looking to promote and spur interest in.

Along with four other weaving traditions, the piña and t’nalak weaves have been selected to be featured in the 12th annual 2015 International Folk Arts Market (IFAM), which will be held in Santa Fe, NM, on Friday through Sunday, July 10 to 12. About 20,000 people are expected to attend the event.

The market “celebrates the humanity of the handmade and empowers communities through monumental earnings,” according to the International Folk Art Alliance website, the umbrella organization under which IFAM falls. Since 2004, the market has hosted 750 artists from 92 countries.

The Philippines’ participation in the market is meant to revitalize hand woven textile production in the country, said Tanya Lat, secretary of the board of trustees of Non-Timber Forest Products Philippines (NTFP). The organization and its marketing arm, CustomMade Crafts Center, Inc. (CMCC), are representing the Philippines this year.

“We have so many textile traditions from north to south and we all need to clothe ourselves, and it’s really sad that we import 80 to 90 percent of our clothing requirements from other countries when we could be generating our own clothing,” Lat said during a presentation on Monday, July 6, at the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles. “[We] hope that the IFAM participation will regenerate interest in the hand-woven textiles and also help generate demand.”

This weekend will be the second time the Philippines has been selected for the weekend market. Last year, five Philippine weaving traditions were represented and 173 artists from 59 countries chosen to participate. The Philippines was also among six new countries to join in on the market.

From Friday through Saturday, six Philippine folk art traditions will be represented. More than 150 artists from 57 countries are slated to attend the event.

“Artists from the CustomMade Crafts Center bring to the International Folk Art Market-Santa Fe woven textiles and baskets like none other in the market,” said Mary Littrell, head of the International Folk Art Alliance selection committee, in an email to Asian Journal.

“The beauty of the hand woven textiles and baskets shines out for all to see. That the art is made from abaca and piñon fibers and in vibrant colors from natural dyes adds to their uniqueness for the market customers. In addition customers are greatly appreciative of the sustainable forest management from which the materials are derived,” she added.

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