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Aljamelah Inaul Weaving and Sewing Center - Mindanao

A short illustrated report by Nick Fielding following a visit to the Center in early 2007

Readers may be interested in a small weaving and embroidery centre I visited recently in Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. The most southerly of the main islands that make up the Philippines, Mindanao is predominantly Moslem, with many of its inhabitants originating further west in Malaysia and Indonesia. Its textiles are not well known, but there is a long tradition of weaving, particularly of the fabrics which are made up into the tubular malong - an item of clothing which locals says can be worn in a hundred different ways. A word of caution: some parts of Mindanao are not easy to visit at present due to a number of ongoing insurgencies, so it is best to take advice before travelling.

I visited the Aljamelah Inaul Weaving and Sewing Center which is based just outside Cotabato City in Shariff Kabunsuan Province. Set up by H. Bai Aleizzah Albaya B Wampa, the centre concentrates on weaving and has rescued a number of old wooden weaving frames from the local area. The workshop is festooned with many examples of local weaving and embroidery, including a number of old silk pieces. At present, most of the weavers - all women - use synthetic threads, because the local market will not support silk weavings, but they hope to expand and once again begin weaving in silk.

The centre can be contacted on 0063 64 431 0070 or 0063 917 785 1737.

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Nick Fielding is editor of the Newsletter of the Oxford Asian Textile Group. Nick is also an award winning investigative journalist with wide experience of reporting terrorism and intelligence issues. For seven years he was a senior reporter on the The Sunday Times where he covered the aftermath and implications of the 9/11 attacks, reporting from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Far East. He also wrote extensively on the animal rights movement in Britain. Nick recently finished a film for al-Jazeera on the investigation into the death of former Osama bin Laden associate, Jamal Khalifa, which involved him traveling to Madagascar and the southern Philippines. Contact Nick.