The muddy trail leads one to a mountain-top village of T'nuos in Takunel, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato. Mountains seem to touch the clouds in T'nuos, the high ground overlooking Lake Sebu is home to indigenous families belonging to the T'boli Tribe.
Subsisting on rootcrops, vegetables, bananas, corn, and other food that abound in their mountain abode, T'boli women augment meager family income by weaving the well-known T'nalak, a fine clothing made from abaca fiber. T'nalak exemplifies one of the trademarks of the T'boli Tribe- art and culture.
Maryjean Lumba leads the T'boli women's group in T'nuos. Together, they weave T'nalak to support family needs. “Weaving T'nalak needs patience and focus. The fine cloth produced is worth the sacrifice,” she said in local dialect. “Finished products from T'nalak will be sold in Marbel (now Koronadal City), Gensan, and Davao. A minimal volume of T'nalak-based products find their way in some souvenir shops locally and even abroad,” Maryjean disclosed.
A weaver can finish an eight-meter T'nalak in eight days, with a selling price of about PhP 500 to PhP1,500 pesos per meter. “The income from T'nalak will already augment what an average T'boli family needs,” Maryjean said. “Bags and souvenir items made from T'nalak command a good price even in the local market,” she added. Aside from T'nalak, T'boli women also produce mats, baskets, handicrafts, and some brass products.
Winning in the recent BiD (Business in Development) Challenge competition boosted T'boli women's positive chances in the market. The project organized locally by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) has put the T'nalak and T'boli women's enterprise in the global perspective of business and development. The cash prize of PhP 100,000 pesos provided by Citi Foundation has been a great help to the T'boli women as they try to find new ways of improving their products.
Positive change is within their reach as T'boli women in T'nuos pursue weaving the T''nalak to augment family income and meet basic necessities. Perseverance and patience have started to bear results, and winning the challenge is only one of the initial steps in establishing a presence in the market. ###
Maryjean Lumba leads the T'boli women's group in T'nuos. Together, they weave T'nalak to support family needs. “Weaving T'nalak needs patience and focus. The fine cloth produced is worth the sacrifice,” she said in local dialect. “Finished products from T'nalak will be sold in Marbel (now Koronadal City), Gensan, and Davao. A minimal volume of T'nalak-based products find their way in some souvenir shops locally and even abroad,” Maryjean disclosed.
A weaver can finish an eight-meter T'nalak in eight days, with a selling price of about PhP 500 to PhP1,500 pesos per meter. “The income from T'nalak will already augment what an average T'boli family needs,” Maryjean said. “Bags and souvenir items made from T'nalak command a good price even in the local market,” she added. Aside from T'nalak, T'boli women also produce mats, baskets, handicrafts, and some brass products.
However, the distance from the village to the nearest local market posed a challenge to the Tboli women. “Accessing competitive local markets for T'nalak has been a challenge to us, but this did not prevent us from finding ways to establish our presence,” Anita Castillon, one of the officers disclosed.
Winning in the recent BiD (Business in Development) Challenge competition boosted T'boli women's positive chances in the market. The project organized locally by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) has put the T'nalak and T'boli women's enterprise in the global perspective of business and development. The cash prize of PhP 100,000 pesos provided by Citi Foundation has been a great help to the T'boli women as they try to find new ways of improving their products.
Positive change is within their reach as T'boli women in T'nuos pursue weaving the T''nalak to augment family income and meet basic necessities. Perseverance and patience have started to bear results, and winning the challenge is only one of the initial steps in establishing a presence in the market. ###