MANILA, Philippines—Among the many challenges faced by a handicraft manufacturer are quality and supply of raw materials. When Rose Nepomuceno was approached by local producers from Aklan to champion the use and promotion of its indigenous materials for housewares, the self-professed serial entrepreneur had to give it considerable thought.

Many of the producers were suppliers of Silver Handicrafts, a company that Rose had set up to handle her souvenir shop at the Kalibo airport. The outlet was a showcase of the local products that Aklanons made, largely for the droves of tourists that were lured by the famous beaches of Boracay.

In the end, Rose agreed to the proposal on the condition that their business partnership would be for keeps. “Walang iwanan,” Rose had challenged the producers. The relationship so far has prevailed, even strengthened over the last 10 years, and not even the worst typhoon in decades that hit Aklan in June had dampened their ardor.

Aklan is ancient land located on the relatively sheltered side of Panay Island, west of the Visayas. Aside from its abundance of raw materials that may be used for handicrafts, the province also has a large pool of skilled weavers known for their fine workmanship.

Rose initially started trading raffia, woven fiber from the young leaves of the buri palm found in abundance in Aklan. The native fabric is best used for bags, table runners, and placemats.

After completing a study mission abroad courtesy of the Department of Trade, and with the help of the Philippine Textile Research Institute, Silver Handicraft ventured into the manufacturing side. New applications of raffia were developed, thanks to the numerous trend seminars and training sessions that Rose attended.

By 2000, after participating in provincial, regional and national trade fairs, Silver Handicrafts was ready to join the Center of International Trade Expositions and Missions’ much-sought after biennial Manila FAME International exhibition. The company also started selling in international fairs in Hong Kong, Italy, Canada and the US.

Aside from raffia-based housewares, Silver Handicrafts was working on new materials and products. “There are so many materials that can be found in Aklan,” Rose says. Nito and hagnaya, for example, were home-grown vines that made for fashionable furniture and home decorations.

Local weave

While nito, a sturdy plant from the fern family, is not unique to Aklan, the weave is. “Our weavers alone can do hapao,” says Rose. With help from designers, Silver Handicraft developed glass coasters, tissue box holders, vase covers and other household items that became an instant hit in expositions.

“Raffia, however, is still a main source of Silver Handicraft’s business,” Rose says. While the demand has dropped from its all-time high in the early 2000s, Silver Handicrafts has managed to position itself as a major and reliable source of the fabric for local and foreign buyers.

After being devastated by the storm, and with the financial crisis that is expected to affect big economies in America, Europe, even Asia, Rose is preparing to revisit her roots. “There is still a big market in Boracay,” she says. It is one local area that she loves to sell to, while maintaining a presence in selected Manila and Cebu local fairs and bazaars.

Meanwhile, as rehabilitation of her flooded building, office plus equipment at Numancia in Kalibo continues, “we are coping little by little,” Rose says. Most of her producers had also been severely affected, and have already sought the local provincial government’s help.

Silver Handicrafts is also seeking to restructure its loans with SB Corp., which was borrowed to build the plant and to purchase the needed welding machine, drier, and sprays.

During tough times, Rose is grateful that all her eggs are not in just one basket. She is in the meantime relying more on her photography studio, currently a surviving entity of her serial entrepreneurship tendencies.

While the beauty parlor and transport services that she opened years before she started Silver Handicrafts are no longer operational, these have contributed to Rose’s entrepreneurial learning journey and have toughened her for the more challenging world of handicraft manufacturing and exporting.

At the moment, even in the midst of recovering from the recent typhoon, Silver Handicraft is already getting ready for April when the next Manila FAME will open. “We should have everything up and running by then,” Rose says with unbridled optimism. “We have to find new markets.”

A pact that Rose made with fellow Aklanons a decade ago does not seem to show signs of faltering. If ever, it seems to be doggedly bent on surviving the recent crises.