The weaving revival in Cebu that's empowering women and preserving Filipino craftsmanship

Batiquin understood her colleagues’ hesitations; it was a risky move during an uncertain time. But they were unafraid of tackling things head-on, including issues like traceability. Holicow wanted to be more transparent about materials, similar to processes done in countries like Australia and Germany. 

They started a stringent documentation of the design process for their capsule collection, which included chairs and tables. These pieces were on display at a roadshow in Germany with the help of the Afos Foundation, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation. 

Initially, the team was unsure if people would care about the traceability and artisanship of their pieces. But as furniture orders started coming in, the Holicow team knew they were on the right path. “The market was more conscious; people wanted a deeper connection with the materials behind the products they bought,” Batiquin says. “So we rode the momentum and turned it into a retail endeavour.” 

In a world that churns out efficient pieces at a low cost, Holicow takes a different approach. “First, people would try to rush bulk orders from us, and I’d feel apologetic when saying it would take a month to complete the order,” says Batiquin. “But over time, I wondered what I was even apologising for. There’s pride in the time it takes to create soulful, unique products.” 

Holicow works frequently with generations of women who integrate the creative process into their daily routines. “The women stop working to bring their children home from school and attend to household commitments, coming back in when they’re ready to work again,” says Batiquin. “This is a slower process, but the consumer becomes part of preserving Filipino handicrafts.” 

In 2024, Holicow received the Good Design Award for their Hateka Hablon ug Matematika, a weaving documentation system developed with the help of local weavers. “The award ultimately belongs to them,” Batiquin emphasises. “Many of them are not formally trained; some are young mothers, others are older women wanting to learn a new craft. Winning an international award boosts their confidence, especially alongside big brands like Samsung. This amazed them.” 

The goal of the Hateka system was to document the weaves, patterns and colourways created by Holicow and the habloneras (weavers). “It had to be both analogue and on the cloud to account for energy shortages and poor internet connectivity in the region,” shared the team on Instagram. While there were weaving programs for industrial looms, the license and technology were often inaccessible to the weavers. 

For Holicow, this had to change. “[The system] had to be a self-sufficient, self-archiving and relevant to the community,” they wrote. Now, the trophy for the Hateka system is not displayed at the Holicow store but at the weavers’ workshop. “They see it on their way in and on their way out,” says Batiquin. “It’s a reminder of what they’re capable of. It makes us want to win more awards for them.” 

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The team also works in regions like Negros Occidental, with the wives of sugarcane farmers. The men are fully employed for planting and harvesting, but most of their time is spent waiting for the plants to grow. Families need money for their daily expenses, often going into debt. 

Ina Gaston, a co-founder of Holicow, wanted to empower the farmers’ wives to find ways to generate income. She realised that many of them wove baskets for daily use—and that’s where a new workshop began. Gaston gathered the women by her home and enlisted their help in creating baskets for events like the Negros Trade Fair. Instead of leaving it at that, she turned the baskets into home décor items like lamps. 

“This is not completely out of their comfort zone, but it transforms what the women know how to do into something high-value,” says Batiquin. “This can then be exported, and the proceeds return to them.” Each woman also works according to her schedule and capabilities. Some can make one basket lamp a week, while others can make two or three. Whatever they can give, Holicow accepts and empowers each woman to pursue their craft. 

In 2015, only six grandmothers were making basket lamps out of their own homes. The looms took up significant amounts of space, making large orders challenging. The Holicow team then enlisted the help of Cebu Technological University, where the women had easy access to larger facilities. The team also noticed the students’ mothers often gathered in the area, waiting for their children to finish so their families could return to their homes in the mountains. 

“I asked if they were interested in learning a handicraft instead of simply waiting,” Batiquin recalls. “They were interested in that. Since then, we’ve expanded our team to include 30 weavers; now, they invite their friends to join us.” 

Today, the Holicow focuses on keeping the weavers’ craft alive through technology. It would be difficult to create a design course, all the more at a technical state university outside Metro Manila. The world of academia was also unfamiliar to Batiquin and the Holicow team. “But the joy of being a designer is rebelling against the word ‘no,’” she says. Distilling weaving into its most basic components, the warp and the weft, echoes concepts and equations found in geometry.  

“Now, you have BS Mathematics students becoming fabric designers, while habloneras—who were not formally trained, who sometimes can’t even write their name—know how to code,” Batiquin enthuses. “We want people to be so engaged with their craft that they never stop exploring the possibilities it holds for them. Whatever limits are in our way, we can find unexpected ways around them by leaning into our unique strengths.” 

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