Manila FAME to have Artisan Village in October

From Albay’s abaca handbags to Mindanao’s Yakan fabrics, it will have our heritage crafts

THE CENTER for Trade Expositions and Missions (Citem) and the local governments of Albay, provinces of Southern Mindanao (Region XI), Zamboanga Peninsula (Region IX), and their respective Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) units, are working on an extensive Partner Province program to encourage artisans to promote their heritage crafts using business strategies for local and international markets.

The products developed under the program will be shown in the 62nd Manila FAME, Oct. 15-18, at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City, Philippines.

The fair will have an Artisan Village for these products.

Albay craftsmen come from a strong community of weavers who create abaca handbags, houseware and home décor, furniture, carpets and rugs.

Mindanao artisans are devel- oping a diverse set of crafts including exotic leather, jewelry, pearls, mats from natural fiber, soap and other organic products from the madre de cacao plant, and exquisite textiles by the Yakan people.

Citem, the owner and organizer of Manila FAME, believes that the value of fine artisanal crafts is not only monetary but also social and cultural.

Intrinsic in these products are the beliefs, traditions and customs of the people who make them, so that they reflect the nation’s identity.

“Our goal is to reach out to the local makers and equip them with up-to-date business knowledge so that they can maintain the relevance of their crafts to the community, recreate their art, sustain livelihood, and be at par with the top players in the industry,” said Citem executive director Rosvi C. Gaetos.

With the help of the country’s young designers, whose innovative ideas will modernize the crafts of local makers, the Artisan Village, with the entire Manila FAME show, will offer a curatorial and meaningful exhibition that displays the fine work of Philippine artisans.

A signature event of Citem, the export promotions arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry, Manila FAME is the country’s bi-annual design and lifestyle trade platform approved by Union des Foires Internationales, the global organization for the leading trade show organizers, fairground owners, and major national and international association of the exhibition industry.