Philippine Handicraft Industry:Their Benefits and Importance
My country, Philippines is blessed with rich natural resources that are scattered throughout its 7,107 islands. These God-given natural wonders are the sources of people’s food, shelter, and other basic needs. After some time, people acquired many skills that enabled them to tinker with nature. They used the raw materials from trees, plants, and other natural resources that are very abundant and turned them into simple, yet useful tools or instruments.
Today, many Filipinos are engaged in handicraft businesses. Handicraft-making has become a means of livelihood for them, especially now that many handicraft owners are exporting their products to Japan, United states, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other countries around the world.
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What are Handicrafts?
Handicrafts are items that are constructed by hand using simple tools rather than mass production methods and equipment. While very similar to basic arts and crafts, there is one key difference with handicrafts. The items produced as a result of the efforts are designed for a specific function or use as well as being ornamental in nature. Handicrafts involve the creation of a wide range of objects, including clothing, religious symbols and jewelry, and different types of paper crafts.
Two of the most common forms of handicrafts are knitting and crocheting. Both pastimes are capable of producing many different items that are both appealing to the eye and very practical. Knitting is a popular means of creating clothing such as sweaters, mittens, and stocking caps. Crocheting can be used to produce unique and visually appealing products for use in the home, such as pillow covers, table coverings, doilies, and afghan throws. Both methods allow for creating interesting color palettes and designs as well as going with simple color schemes for a more subdued look.
Jewelry making is another example of handicrafts. The jewelry pieces created may use a combination of metal and various types of stones. However, paper crafts can also be used to create interesting designs for earrings, necklaces, ankle bracelets, or rings. Whatever the choice of materials, they are worked and shaped using simple hand tools, which give each piece a sense of being unique rather than uniform.
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Beading and embroidery are also fun pastimes that are classified as handicrafts. Beadwork can be used to enhance the look of any type of garment ranging from blouses and skirts to shawls and headcoverings. Sweaters sometimes feature beadwork as a means of adding a touch of elegance to the front or shoulders of the garment.
Embroidery often serves the same basic function as beading, but utilizes different sizes and colors of thread to produce designs that are pleasing to the eye. Embroidery may be used to personalize throw pillows, jean pockets, sweater fronts, or even table coverings. As with all types of handicrafts, these two methods rely on the vision and dexterity of the individual to produce the desired result rather than some type of production machinery.
Sewing in general can be regarded as an example of handicrafts. Cutting and sewing a slipcover for a chair would meet this definition, as would creating pillow shams or using lengths of material to create drapery or curtain panels for window treatments. Even sewing a hem onto terrycloth sections that are cut to size and creating kitchen towels would be considered a handicraft activity.
Since the idea behind handicrafts is that any item produced must be useful as well as decorative, the implication is that they can also be cleaned with relative ease. For example, a tablecloth embroidered with holiday designs would normally be safe to wash by hand or in a standard washing machine.
Article from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-handicrafts.htm
Philippine Handicraft Industry:Their Benefits and Importance
Almost every family in the Philippines owns one or more handicraft products like baskets, brooms, feather dusters, bamboo sofa set, cabinets, and other furniture. Accessories like earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and other clothing apparel which young people today are fond of wearing are also made from native products like beads, shells, seeds, and others. This is a clear indication that our handicraft industry is enjoying the patronage of Filipinos nationwide.
My country, Philippines is blessed with rich natural resources that are scattered throughout its 7,107 islands. These God-given natural wonders are the sources of people’s food, shelter, and other basic needs. After some time, people acquired many skills that enabled them to tinker with nature. They used the raw materials from trees, plants, and other natural resources that are very abundant and turned them into simple, yet useful tools or instruments.
Today, many Filipinos are engaged in handicraft businesses. Handicraft-making has become a means of livelihood for them, especially now that many handicraft owners are exporting their products to Japan, United states, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and other countries around the world.
The Philippines is the second largest world producer of handicrafts, mainly baskets out of indigenous materials. This industry continues to provide a respectable contribution to foreign exchange earning of the country (US$71.9M in 2000) while many handicraft items are also sold on the local market. All together, the sector is providing livelihood to more than 1 million Filipinos. Although the industry has experienced some setbacks over the last ten years, it has kept the respect of the high-end markets in the United States, European Union, and Japan and has only lost a great part of the low-end market to China, our main competitor.
Despite this, Filipino craftsmen have indigenously overcome scarcity and increasing prices of raw materials by constantly producing new designs for their products. Over the years, Philippine handicrafts have evolved through innovative changes in designs reinforced by exciting choices and combination of indigenous materials. There is, however still ample room for improvement, particularly in remote upland communities with little access to market information, brokering services, capital, and technologies for value addition.
Aside from these, the handicraft industry is important because of the following reasons:
- It promotes our cultural heritage through the use of indigenous materials.
- Handicraft products show an individual’s creativity and lofty imagination.
- Producers of raw materials will be encouraged to produce more.
- Employment is generated especially for the undergraduates.
- Values of perseverance and industry are developed.
Handicraft Tools
The tools commonly used in handicraft are of two types – the hand tools and the power tools. Hand tools are the tools for processing the article which are used manually or by hands. Power tools are tools for processing materials that are operated by machine. The tools commonly used in handicrafts are the following:
- mallet
- screwdriver
- pliers
- coping saw
- chisel
- hand drill
- wrench
- clamp
- knife
- smoothing plane
- auger
- hacksaw
- paintbrush
- folding rule, zigzag rule, steel rule
- pencil
- compass
- hammer
- blowtorch
- soldering iron
Handicraft Materials
In order to create new handicraft products which can be sold locally or exported abroad, different raw materials which are available in the market, are needed. Handicraft makers fashion them into baskets, bags, accessories, cabinets, lamp shades, wall decor, bamboo sofa sets, cabinets, clothes, and others.
Here are the materials commonly needed in making handicrafts:
Abaca – known worldwide as Manila hemp. Abaca fiber is obtained from the leaf sheaths of the abaca (Musa textilis Nee) and is considered as the strongest among natural fibers. The length of the fiber varies from 3 to 9 ft or more, depending on the height of the plant and the age of the leafsheath. The color of the fiber ranges from ivory white to light and dark brown.
Rattan – is superficially similar to bamboo, but distinct in that the stems are solid, rather than hollow, and also in their need for some sort of support. While bamboo can grow on its own, rattan cannot. Some genera (example Metroxylon, Pigafetta, Raphia) are however more like typical palms, with stouter, erect trunks. Many rattans are also spiny, the spines acting as hooks to aid climbing over other plants, and also to deter herbivores. Rattans have been known to grow up to hundreds of meters long.
Bamboo – Stems of bamboo plants are stronger and flexible. Bamboo grows in all parts of the country – in plains, forests, hills and mountains.
Among the varieties of bamboo are the spiny bamboo, kawayan China, kawayan kiling, bikal and buho.
Coconut Shells – Coconut trees are abundant in the Philippines. Coconut shells vary in thickness and color depending on the age of the nut. They are used for fuel and for manufacturing articles such as buttons, pins, coin banks, lamp shades, and flower vases.
Fibers – They come from plants where fibers or threadlike substances are extracted. Fibers from coconut husks, buri, maguey, pineapple, abaca, and banana are used in making mattresses, carpet, and seat pads.
Buri – It is a palm from which three kinds of fibers, namely buri, raffia, and buntal, are obtained. The buri palm has large fan-shaped leaves with stout petioles ranging from 2 to 3 m in length. The palm reaches a height of 20 to 40 m and its trunk attains a diameter of 1 to 1.5 m. Of the buri fiber, buntal is the one with the most impact in the market.
Leather – is a material created through the tanning of hides, skins and kips of animals. Hides are skins from large animals like horses and carabaos. Skins come from such animals like alligators and goats. Kips are obtained from undersized animals like lizards. The tanning process converts the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting, and versatile natural material for various uses.
article from :http://beth811.hubpages.com/hub/Philippine-Handicraft-IndustryTheir-Benefits-and-Importance
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Advantages, Benefits – Handicrafts or Hand Made Crafts and Products
In this industrialized world, people always look out for branded products. Apart from this, some people also buy quality hand made products called as Handicrafts. The handicraft business is growing popular at many parts of the globe. For example: Handicrafts in India, such as dolls, designed clothes, embroidery materials, wood works, hand painting, gifts, furniture, toys and a lot more, are much popular worldwide. Eventhough handicraft products are considered as traditional work, there are many advantages and benefits in it.
Reusability of waste materials:
The materials which are considered as waste usually fill the trash bin. In this type of business, the most used raw materials are from the recycled wastes, bottles, etc. Some of the household items such as plastic cups, cans, cardboard box, pins, buttons, magazines and old clothes are also used to make handicraft products. Therefore, it helps to recycle the waste.
Improves the creativity and skills:
Whatever talents or skills that you have, can be sold to the customers if it meets the requirement and quality criteria. You have to create handicraft products with your knowledge and skills. At first stage, you may make some mistakes but practicing and improving the creativity can be surely achieved. With proper skills and development, there is a definite chance to grow your own business. It is the best platform to enhance your interests and skills.
Availability of raw materials:
Since handicraft is all about making craft with available things (mostly recycled household waste products), the raw materials are very cheap and easy to purchase. Suppose, if it is a small scale handicraft industry that produces hand made furniture, clothes and embroidery designed products, the raw materials are easily available or the industry would also use recycled products.
Make money with self employment:
It is one of the best ways to eradicate unemployment. It provides innumerous opportunities to explore the skills and talents. Women who are homemakers and unemployed people can spend their leisure time in learning handicraft skills to earn good amount of income. Income generation depend upon the quality of skills that you have, resources and investment you allot for the handicraft business. It is also necessary to find out niche market and target audience to earn high amount of income.
Strengthens the economic growth:
Hand made products from a small scale industry or cottage industry (popular in India) can be easily marketed with the help of trade fairs and exhibitions that showcase the unique talents to the world. Selling unique products or decorative handcrafted items can increase the export rate of a country and hence it boost up the economic growth. The economic growth can also be achieved by employment generation and proper transformation of local raw materials into useful products.
For example: Rajasthan handicrafts are popular worldwide. At Rajasthan in India, many small scale cottage industries involve in making quality handicraft design products that not only yield income for their families but also strengthen the economic growth by exporting to foreign countries.
Minimum investment:
The business completely depends on individual skills and ordinary raw materials. Therefore, there is no need for big industry or wasting machines.
Environment friendly:
The most attractive thing of handicraft items is Eco-friendly property. It uses wood pieces, recycled plastics, bottles and other waste materials which are converted to beautiful pieces of handicraft items. They are not machine-made; hence they use less amount of energy and give minimum amount of waste output. Most of the hand made products are more biodegradable and environmental friendly than factory-made products. It is also completely free from hazardous materials and chemicals.
Good quality and uniqueness:
Only hand made products of good quality arrives to the market. Hence, people can completely trust and buy them. Usually, handicrafts are unique because creativity plays an important role in this business. Due to the uniqueness factor, the designs and craft works really amaze many buyers all around the world!
article from : http://blog.homeinout.com/advantages-benefits-handicrafts-hand-crafts-products/
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