Here’s the thing: a lot of us often use the hashtag #SupportLocal in our social media captions whenever we buy products from local businesses online or offline, but let’s be real. Some of the people we follow and know IRL (in real life) probably just use the hashtag for the gram, or perhaps because one of their favorite influencers used the hashtag on Instagram, and they felt the need to jump on the bandwagon. No shade, but I can name a few people in my head. Yikes. I’m not exactly here to call them out though, because what they’re doing is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean it still helps to promote the product. A win-win situation!
But I’m gonna be brutally honest. It’s getting a bit concerning to see oomfs (one of my followers/friends) misuse #SupportLocal for their Instagram “aesthetic” and to jump on what’s “trendy”. Lo and behold, and I can’t stress this enough, the narrative is way bigger than that and I think it’s time we talk about it.
So what does it really mean to #SupportLocal?
Let’s start with supporting local artists and businesses, may it be for arts and crafts, food, clothes, and other products we can think of. These items can now be sourced from our very own Filipino ventures, which I must really say, is beyond the Instagram hype and actually has many perks, especially for our hardworking day-to-day workers. Their jobs are not easy and they deserve all the credit. Periodt! And when I say credit, I don’t mean we just commend them for the work they do through social media shoutouts and follows (because there’s no doubt they are some of our modern day heroes), but also compensate them, because they rightfully deserve it.
With that said, Ipadayag Digital reached out to Malaya Project, an online channel that supports the craftsmanship and products of Filipino artists and artisans, particularly indigenous communities all over the country.
To dive deeper into the topic and educate us on why we should #SupportLocal, check this out:
SUPPORTING LOCAL HELPS THE COMMUNITY THRIVE
According to the Department of Labor and Employment-National Wages Productivity Commission, our local workers don’t earn much. In fact, the daily minimum wage of an everyday Filipino worker is 200-500 pesos. When the pandemic hit the country earlier this year, our fellow Filipinos were one of the most affected with the contraction of the economy.
It’s truly heartbreaking to see these numbers, but thankfully, a platform emerged to support our local community. With the money we have, we can make a conscious choice to help local economies stay alive!
Migs Dato, the founder of Malaya Project, finds it important that Filipino artists and artisans are given the opportunity to distribute their products and make a living.
“The vision of Malaya Project is to really just support and promote the craftsmanship and livelihood of indigenous communities.”
Malaya Project, which first started out supporting the Ifugaos, is now partnering with different artisans from different parts of the country like the local weavers of Batangas, Ilocos, the Mangyans in Mindoro, as well as other indigenous tribes like the Lumads in Mindanao and Yakans in Zamboanga.
“We want to bring the crafts of the IPs (indigenous peoples) to the people na parang maging affordable siya dahil malaki ang potential ng products nila,” Dato shared.
Hand-woven face masks, guitar straps, bags, and other accessories are among the products made by IPs that are currently available on the brand’s Instagram.
Apart from supporting locally sourced products and struggling workers, Malaya is also working on a Museum and Learning Center project that aims to preserve Ifugao culture and heritage, as well as teach them how to market their products for sustainable livelihoods.
This just goes to show that #SupportingLocal can go a long way!
SUPPORTING LOCAL IS ETHICAL AND SUSTAINABLE
2020 couldn’t be more 2020 without the unnecessary online splurging. *cries in broke!*
One thing we all probably have in common during these uncertain times is going through character development and becoming more conscious consumers! Or maybe not? Either way, the best choice is always shopping ethically and sustainably. Speaking of which, I couldn’t find a more perfect example than the hand-woven textiles of Ifugao.
According to Tatler Philippines, these textiles are one of the most interesting crafts in the country and are weighed with tremendous cultural value. Though the process of obtaining the materials used to create the hand-woven fabrics is modernized, Ifugaos still perform the traditional weaving that follows centuries of old-age techniques, or the ikat, where bundles of yarn are tightly wrapped and colored as much as possible to produce a pattern or design.
“Yung process ng paggawa ng products nila is very intricate, sobrang detailed, at sobrang tinatrabaho talaga nila,” said Dato.
Furthermore, Malaya also advocates to highlight the Ifugaos’ simple but versatile fabrics, transforming them into various, beautiful outputs, which indeed is exhibited in their clothing, tote bags, and accessories.
When we shop local, not only do we get to own items that hold a lot of cultural value, but items that are also good for the environment since most of these utilize locally-sourced materials and contain a small carbon footprint.
SUPPORTING LOCAL MEANS PROMOTING FILIPINO ARTISTRY
One way we can display our culture and heritage is through the arts. And what better way to do so than to support our local crafters and artisans who strive to keep art alive?
“These people [the indigenous peoples], most of them, hindi sila nag aral, mahihirap, so they really need support from us,” Dato expressed.
We’ve seen countries like South Korea and Japan support their local arts and proudly embrace their culture. Here in the Philippines, on the other hand, despite having rich cultural diversity, we are slowly losing our identity,
“The local arts in the Philippines are dying!” Dato exclaimed. And it is very much evident in the lack of appreciation we have for Filipino films, for example. Many of us choose to patronize foreign over local films, wear garments that don’t represent anything Filipino when there are so many local fashion brands we can go for — no harm in those — but we must always commemorate our roots and what’s ours. Our fellow countrymen, and especially indigenous communities, are the human form of what our culture truly is — who we are as Filipinos — and the years and years worth of history embedded in our culture, hence, we must continue to sustain the arts and culture we have for the future generations.
#SupportLocal is more than just a hashtag. It is an empowering movement that yields opportunities for local communities, helps protect our country’s soils, and paves the way for Filipino culture and arts to be valued and celebrated in a bigger platform.
Truly, when we use this hashtag, what we are doing is more than just supporting but empowering one another — because when we support each other, everyone wins!
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