Miss Kagay-an Tourism 2007 Diana Bagonoc, first runner-up Dianne Galenzoga and fourth runner-up Kathleen Marie Tabada were featured in the program donning Puyo Handicrafts accessories.
Puyo Handicrafts products are a fusion of combining local and environmentally friendly products.
Using indigenous materials such as abaca fiber, cogon grass, flowers, and leaves, members of the Misamis Oriental Multi-Fiber Cluster Inc. (Momci) are able to creatively design and manufacture novelty items such as bags, cards, writing materials, and other similar items.
These are sold locally and exported to clients abroad, particularly in the US and in Europe.
These quality crafted items and accessories that boast of Filipino ingenuity however have yet to be appreciated by most Filipinos.
"On one hand, it is sad that most of our countrymen prefer imported goods that are expensive and do not support local businesses while people in the US and Europe appreciate the novelty of our products," Momci president Vivian Libao of Puyo Handicrafts noted.
"But on the other hand, we at Momci consider this lack of patronage as a challenge. Moreover, we are confident because we produce environment-friendly products which are globally acceptable," she further explained.
Libao also urges the general public to support and patronize their products in order to sustain the livelihood of women and indigenous people.
Momci products were recently on display at the Kahimunan Mindanao 2008, at Limketkai Atrium.
In particular, Puyo Handicrafts products are made from abaca/Manila hemp.
Abaca is the premier cordage fiber of the world.
It is a structural (hard) fiber obtained from the outer layers of the overlapping leaf sheaths which form the stalks of the abaca plant.
It is very light, strong, and durable.
When properly extracted and dried, it is also of a white, lustrous color.
One particular feature of the abaca fiber which emphasizes its superiority over all other fibers of its class is its great strength and its resistance to the action of water, hence its particular adaptability for marine ropes.
Making an accessory out of abaca begins when the trunk of a plant is cut down two to four times a year to harvest the fiber.
The leaf sheaths are then stripped and the pulp is scrapped off to get the abaca fiber strands.
To make ropes, the strands are twisted together. These strands are mainly composed of cellulose, pectin and lignin.
Abaca fiber is extremely strong and durable, resistant to salt water, relatively cheap to produce, has a beautiful texture and biodegradable and eco-friendly.
Some of the variants available at Puyo Handicrafts (Dolores-Corrales) are wood handle shell bag, abaca flat clutch bag, abaca clutch bag with fur, abaca hobo bag, abaca pouch bag with brooch, abaca thru-pillow, rattan handle banig and hinabol bag, anahaw tote bag and tikog hobo bag.
There are also tikog shoulder flat bag, abaca bag with glass beads, tikog sling bag, kinawit sinamay bag, sinamay tote bag with zipper, among others. (With PIA)
