Tags: Cottage Industries, Entrepreneurship, Handicrafts
By KC Santos
CENTRALA, SOUTH COTABATO – Maria Neza Prayco and her sister Annabelle Taroy are helping their community through a corn husk handicraft business. Though rather accidental, the siblings’ venture into corn husks handicrafts turned out to be their life-long passion.
“It’s amazing how one day see yourself with so much more to do but with so little time,” shares Maria Neza, who was previously unemployed by choice to look after her ageing parents.
Annabelle, an office staff for the local chapter of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), saw Maria Neza’s interest in handicrafts and later pitched the idea of using readily available materials like corn husks.
Using their sala as a small workshop, Neza and Annabelle soon found themselves training women from 19 different barangays in Surallah. The local government eventually saw the potential of their “hobby” to boost livelihood opportunities for the municipality.
The sisters later had the Allah Valley Crafters Association registered as the group that specializes in the local handicrafts industry of Surallah. The group is now composed of 27 women crafters, 10 of which are consistently active in producing orders.
Their first design, a flower, didn’t pick up as much as they had expected. This prompted Annabelle to seek training from a General Santos-based artist to develop their design skills, which is now why they are the best crafters of corn husk dolls fully clad in traditional Muslim costumes.
The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) also pitched in providing the necessary tools to hasten and double the production of their crafters.
In trade fairs, Maria Neza and Annabelle are able to sell their creations at prices starting from P30 to P350.
“We make sure that the labor and the materials are paid for. The idea there is that if we show the crafters that their hard labor is compensated, they become motivated to sustain it,” she says.
Before they knew it, the corn husks dolls were recognized as the One-Town-One-Product (OTOP) of Surallah.
“The feeling is indescribable whenever you see young ones enjoy and learn from your craft. It’s like a part of your creativity transcends in their work,” Maria Neza says.
Get more information about Allah Valley Crafters Association
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