CEBU – Each year when the Christmas spirit sweeps across towns and cities in Cebu, the “parol” or the traditional Filipino Christmas lantern becomes the center of attention and this is especially evident in the northern part of Cebu – in the town called Sogod – which is among the towns in northern Cebu affected by last year’s super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).
Makers of Christmas parols and other handicrafts in Sogod displayed their high-quality products on the sides of the highway to show their creativeness, skills and most importantly, their resilience.
The 46-year old parol maker, Jessie Retiza, said he and his brother started their business three years ago, but their sales started to improve only last year. “Nagsugod dyud ug kadaghan ang among orders ug halin kadtong pagkahuman nahitabo ang bagyong Yolanda. Ang mamalitay kasagaran ang mga foreigners (Our orders started to pick up after Yolanda happened. Most of our customers are foreigners,” Retiza said.
He said they would start displaying their products on from September until December and prices of Christmas decors range from P150 to P2,000, depending on sizes or designs.
Retiza said they are starting to have regular clients and resellers on a consignment basis. “Ingon nila ilahang i-display ang mga items sa ilang tindahan. Kung naay mga orders nga dinaghan, tawagon ra mi nila (They said they will display our items in their stores. If there are bulk orders, they will just call us),” he said.
Intricate details are noticeable in their craftsmanship. This is because most of the makers used to work in one of the export-quality rattan furniture factories in the province. They not only use their superb weaving skills and expertise for business, they also teach some of their neighbors so they can also have their own livelihood.
“Maayo na lang makatabang ta sa atoang kabanay o mga silingan sa kadtong ganahan makat-on (It’s a good thing to teach someone in the family or our neighbors),” Retiza said, adding, their products are durable and world-class and made from natural, eco-friendly materials, such as abaca, lampakanay and bagon. (Heart Rizarri)
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