Driven by purpose, Leyte home, fashion, and lifestyle brands make their way to Taglay Pinoy

The renowned tourist destination submits its home, fashion, and lifestyle portfolio for the digital landscape’s perusal

Dotted with haunts for tourists like its white-sand beach in Kalanggaman Island, the longest bridge in the country, as well as historical sites, Leyte is also home to a wealth of weavers and an abundance of purpose. 

Leyte’s brands and designers, while no stranger to venturing into trade shows to spotlight the island’s wares, have once again gone beyond the sea and now into the digital landscape as 3 brands hailing from the home, fashion, and lifestyle (HFL) sector have joined Taglay Pinoy. 

Taglay Pinoy is a comprehensive assistance and resources program tailored for the empowerment of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), to amply equip them for transition into, transformation within, and takeover of the digital space. 

Cooperatives aimed at empowering locals by providing them sustainable livelihoods and a home for their talents like Uswag Arejano Producers Cooperative and Santo Niño De Plaridel Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SNPMPC) are among the brands whose purpose and presence will be augmented in the digital sphere. 

Not coincidentally, uswag is a term used in various regions that means “progress,” which is also the very marching order and North Star for the cultural collective that is the Uswag Arejano Producers Cooperative. A brainchild of Congresswoman Anna Veloso-Tuazon from the 3rd District of Leyte, Uswag is an assertion that artisan weavers are integral to cultural heritage across regions in the Philippines, not just Leyte, and a means to keep the wisdom from culture-makers and bearers alive.

The Santo Niño de Plaridel Parish Multi-Purpose Cooperative  also keeps the art of and livelihood in weaving through its 50 direct workers, of which pandan weavers are leading the charge. Drawing from the rich material culture of the locale, from the Four Islands of Leyte: Apid, Mahaba, Himokilan, and Digjo.  

Adding to Leyte’s locally powered HFL portfolio are sustainability bonafides, care of Lolo Bobby. The brand’s crowd-favorite including fashion accessories, table runners, and placemats are made of coconut shells and carabao horns. Lolo Bobby–an homage to her grandfather and a confluence of her children’s names–started out with handicrafts like simple dining ware and has now also gone on to make its  mark in the spaces of home décor and accessories with napkin rings, utensils, and earrings.

Through Taglay Pinoy, the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) aims to enhance the global competitiveness of MSMEs and improve the marketability of Filipino products and services in a technology-driven market.

The Taglay Pinoy Program is in line with the development and promotion of the Philippine Creative Industries backed by creative industry champion, Congressman Christopher De Venecia, along with 22 congressional districts and provinces.