Miag-ao’s teral fabric captures international market

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SAN JOSE, ANTIQUE – Miag-ao Mayor Macario Napulan looked dashing as he wore his hometown’s “teral” or handwoven fabric sewn into polo barong during the opening of the Department of Tourism’s Countdown to Christmas featuring the “One Visayas” from Nov. 23 to Dec. 4.

Napulan, in an interview, said that the ongoing event is a good opportunity to bring teral, Miag-ao’s local product which has now been greatly improved with the innovativeness of a famous couturier from the town, to be brought to the national market.

He said that “teral,” a local word for heirloom, has now been made with a combination of abaca silk, rayon, cotton and other fibers to make it more elegant and comfortable.

The mayor said that the industry started in Miag-ao even before the Spanish era, but that the local weavers were only limited to making Patadyong out of hablon.

The industry, due to time and emergence of cheaper textiles, waned despite of several efforts also to revive it.

Now, however, it has been made more modern and captivating for the younger generation.

“Before there were only 20 weavers but now there are more than 100 with the assistance by the NGCP,” Napulan said.

The National Greening Corporation of the Philippines chose the Miag-ao weaving industry to be the recipient of its corporate social responsibility. Thus, more folks are being trained again with couturier Bernard “Nono” Palmos at the helm.

Aside from clothes which were shown in the Island Dreams Fashion Show by Palmos that were well admired at the New DOT Building last Nov. 23, there were also women’s accessories, table runners, shawl and many more items put on sale.

Palmos, who have been into the fashion industry for 30 years, also said that there is a potential global market for the handwoven fabrics, citing his latest fashion show in Zurich and Geneva, Switzerland that was published at the French El newspaper.

He also said that their company, named Teral, has an outlet in the United States and has clients from different countries.

He said that hablon in particular is a nice fabric because of its flexibility and suitability to an artist.

“We need to train more weavers in order to meet the demand,” he said. He said that starting off in his hometown Miag-ao, he plans to also expand and train weavers from the neighboring towns in the first district of Iloilo province so they could be part of the age-old but newly revived weaving industry.

DOT Regional Dir. Helen Catalbas said that DOT has been extending various assistance to Miag-ao weaving industry including financial support its local festival and by patronizing the products.