BANAUE, Ifugao — Lourdes Gayumma has become an expert artisan, after joining a group of women building a reputation in the traditionally male-dominated woodcarving industry in a town renowned for its majestic rice terraces. Eighteen women carvers from Barangay Viewpoint and Bocos here formed the Banaue Women Sculptors Organization in 2016, and took center stage in this year’s Imbayah Festival when they engaged their male counterparts in a friendly carving competition. Women are often tasked with weaving baskets and traditional dresses or with helping polish woodcraft into smooth texture finish, he said. ADVERTISEMENTMeticulous handsThe female mumpaot carve inch-tall miniature replicas of Ifugao icons like “bulol” (rice granary guardians), “lingling-o” (charms) and native huts, which are dangled as necklaces or key chains. So when the women sell necklaces or key chains at P35 apiece, the price tag is actually far below their real value, he said.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer May 01, 2018 20:37 UTC