Kalinga

Handweaving Craft Center and Training Facility

Kalinga
Handweaving
Their craft is always changing and growing. Skills, culture, and innovation all
play a role. It reflects the past and contemporary and produces an integrated
whole with weaving, a continuous tradition, and empowered culture-bearers as
its products. The project will bring together the creators and the craft, the
exterior and the interior, tradition and modernization, nature and the constructed
structure, everything inside the project's living thread, inspiring future
storylines.
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study

Handweaving is deeply embedded in the culture of the Cordilleras. It is a practice that has long been
part of the cultural identity of its people and communities. A tradition passed through generations and
has become a tourist attraction on its own. Every province in the
region has its unique weaving pattern and identity that reflects the rich and colorful
traditions and heritage of every tribe, that exemplify complex relations with their use of textiles.

Kalinga is one of the greatest provinces in the Philippines. It is well-known for its many cultural
traditions and manifestations of music, dance, and artisan craft. Lubuagan, in particular, was the capital
of the Kalinga sub-province before Tabuk developed to its current position. Industrialization, trade, and
colonialism all had an impact on the underlying background of weaving in the Philippines. Backstrap
handweaving has been a main source of revenue in many communities in the contemporary era. As a
result, textile patterns and designs have developed dramatically to meet customer preferences. Textile
designs that were once associated with certain ethnic groups are now being employed by neighboring
tribes. Some are integrated into pop culture themes, utilizing imported colors, yarns, and other
materials. Lower quality weaves are also commonly manufactured to increase tourist sales and meet
market demand; this is why certain tribes lose tighter, higher quality weaves.
Significance
of the Study
Backstrap handweaving is in continuous production even today, but along with this
progression, there is data stating that most of the locals in Mabilong are starting to lose
interest in their culture and traditions, mainly caused by modernization and being more
civilized than before. Thus, there is a need for a structure that will facilitate their needs.
The handweaving industry is dominated by women, the majority of whom have their own
families and are mothers and wives.

As a cultural activity associated to enjoyment may look humorous at first glance, but only
to the extent that is allowed to both legal and cultural standards. This is where
architecture must be displayed and serve as a bridge to meet the legal and moral
standards of various native Filipinos. Local handweavers would be able to be more
passionately connected with the local industry if facilities were available, and it would be
more convenient and pleasant for them. Aside from houses and under trees, this could
alter people's perceptions of centers such as the proposed project as purely female
production centers.
Significance of the Study
Weavers, their families, and other people, even if they have no interest in weaving,
may be brought together in a center of culture and tradition in the province, which
is not very common in this area, with the help of other facilities proposed to be
annexed to the main facility for backstrap handweaving. Architecture expresses
the purpose of certain facilities as well as the characteristics of their users. As a
result, the proposed project should represent these through an architectural
approach. It aims to promote standard construction and design practices while
reframing the backstrap handweaving business as a representation of national
culture and history.
Crisis for Handweaving
Culture in the Philippines
The Philippine textile is a representation of our culture and tradition as Filipinos.
Traditional weaving by indigenous peoples in the Philippines is regrettably
losing popularity among the younger generation. As a result of modernization,
new technology, and professional opportunities in the
city and abroad, younger generations of indigenous communities are fleeing to
greener pastures. As a result, cultural displacement occurred, and the hand
weaving legacy is gradually fading. Furthermore, the market for traditional
handwoven Philippine textiles is declining as a result of more accessible
alternatives and rapid fashion in the current day.
Goal of the Study
Provide
Providing facilities for local handweavers will allow
residents to be more passionately involved in the local
sector while also making it more convenient and pleasant
for them.

Produce
Local product production would be faster than typical,
which may result in satisfying market demands and
popularizing the craft.

Promulgate
By providing adequate facilities and accessible equipment,
handweavers will be able to promote and sell their
products, as well as contribute to the local tourism of
Mabilong, Lubuagan, Kalinga.
Vernacular Architecture
It is a kind of local or regional construction that uses traditional materials and resources from the area where the structure is located." As a result, this architecture
is closely tied to its surroundings and is cognizant of the distinctive geographic elements and cultural aspects of its surrounds, which have a great impact on it. As
a result, they are distinctive to different parts of the world, and have even become a method of reinforcing one's identity.

Given these distinguishing characteristics, the notion of vernacular architecture may become fairly ambiguous. Vernacular architecture is defined as "architecture
that comprises people's residences and other buildings connected to their unique settings and resources, generally produced by the owners or the community
using traditional techniques." It is designed to satisfy unique demands and to accommodate a culture's beliefs, economics, and lifestyle.
Bamboo Architecture
Bamboo, as a building material with great compressive strength and low weight,
has been one of the most commonly utilized building materials as a support for
concrete, particularly in areas where it is abundant. Bamboo is utilized in the
construction of scaffolding, bridges and constructions, and dwellings. Bamboos
are one of the world's fastest-growing plants, growing three times quicker than
most other plant species due to a unique rhizome-dependent structure. They are
a renewable and incredibly flexible material with several applications. Among
the many applications of bamboo, housing is one of the most important,
especially in light of global housing shortages.
SITE SELECTION
Assessing the site by providing a criterion will be effective for the researcher to be able to find the most suitable and relevant to the problem. The site will be
situated where the client’s demand can be established and accessed by the users such as tourists, handweavers, and others. The location of the project should
include the natural, environmental, physical aspects, legal, institutional, administrative, aesthetic and socioeconomic factor. The following are the general and
specific site qualities that would help the researcher to choose the best location for the proposed project:

• The location must be in a region with an increasing population and/or a declining

tourism level.
• The site must be located in an area with a significant concentration of weavers.
• The site must be located in an area where there are insufficient facilities to meet the
needs of handweavers.
MAJOR CRITERIA
Facility Siting
Locate facilities inside an area of the neighborhood of a community identical to the ones where the weavers
came from. Nonetheless, the facility should not be located in areas with a poor possibility of increasing
tourist or in remote locations.

Accessibility
Facilitate the use of mass transit for public and employee accessibility, guaranteeing that they may easily
return and forth to the institution.

Availability of Utilities
Existing services such as drainage, sewer system, communication, power supply, and water supply must be
present on the site. These must be capable of supporting the development and planning required by the
planned facility's project structures.

Surrounding Establishments
Co-locate and the proximity of the facility in the existing training centers, souvenir shops, and the
handweaving facility.
MINOR CRITERIA
Characteristic of Site
Existing services such as drainage, sewer system, communication, power supply, and water supply must be
available at the site. These must be able to support the development and planning required by the planned
facility’s project structures.

Existing Vegetation
Existing plants and trees in the area.

Availability for Expansion

The amount of space available on the existing site to expand it or for future
developments of the facility.
Thank you
Mark Russell B. Dimayuga
Arch 4A