Traditional weaving x contemporary needs

Generation Y is made to believe it can change the world, and so it must be done by changing the way it looks at things. Instead of taking things literally, the generation is looking beyond the surface to arrive at meanings.

More socially and culturally aware through the Internet, the youth today is more able and empowered to make the changes they envision, to actually partake in the course of history and the future. Forward- thinking and innovative, yet they do not fail to take time to retrace their roots.

Being descendants of a culture with a rich and deeply-rooted handicraft tradition, young craftsmen and artisans, even enthusiasts of this generation shouldn’t come as a surprise. Products like handwoven bags, mats, baskets, and the like are common crafts Filipinos have been making since time immemorial. And because such products are readilyavailable, they are often overlooked on their importance and role in the culture.

Gugu, a social enterprise, reinvents the use of traditional woven fabric and turns it to something useful, mainstream, and contemporary, that is a backpack. Gugu started out as a school project by a group of students brainstorming around the idea of “Wear Filipino Pride” and no sooner, the project blossomed into a social movement it is today.

Founded in 2010, Gugu aims to bridge the gap between traditional materials and contemporary taste through the backpacks they produce. Aside from the demand for backpacks, especially with students, the accessory harmonizes contemporary lifestyle and today’s trends. Moreover, Gugu is driven to empower the traditional textile industry in the country, enabling a local business in Banedero, Barga City in Bicol and making it sustainable.

Jute is the traditional textile that Gugu uses to make backpacks. One can choose from any of three hip designs created to cater and complement one’s personality and modern- day needs. Each design in the collection is distinctly named and spelled in Filipino, in the manner of how its English counterpart sounds when spoken. In Filipino, “Kung anong bigkas, siyang baybay.”

The largest in the collection is Klasik, which is made to keep up with one’s daily grind. It is equipped with a laptop sleeve, a sizable capacity in its main compartment, and pockets outside. The backpack’s organic exterior protects the stuff inside the bag.

Meanwhile, Teki is a laptop backpack with a traditional hand- woven fi nish created to contain the modern ( wo) men’s aluminum gadgets. Junyor is the smallest in the collection fashioned for everyday use and created for the more carefree individual who likes to keep things light yet stylish.

Named after a mythical chieftain in Bicol, Gugurang, the guardian of Mt. Mayon, Gugu, by its nomenclature, is a guardian of Bicolano identity and culture. It helps sustain, hence preserve traditional Bicolano textile by making it consumable. Gugu literally takes the cultural and economical matter by its loose ends and weave it into a tangible social movement that is sturdy and big enough to cradle precious Bicolano tradition.