AFTER seeing the popularity of handwoven bags online, a jail officer has opened opportunities for the Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) inside the Cebu City Jail (CCJ) male dormitory to earn income and support their families.
Jail officer 1 Abby Tarona told SunStar Cebu that she saw the potential of some of the inmates who knew how to weave bags after learning skills in a livelihood program.
“I saw the idea online. Our inmates could really make these bags since they are very skilled in weaving and also in hand painting,” she said.
After looking for affordable materials compared to abaca and seagrass, Tarona said she contacted one of her friends who owns a hardware store to source from him directly.
She said they now use the material polypropylene (PP) strapping, which is lightweight and durable for their handwoven and hand-painted bags.
“The CCJ before was using abaca and seagrass, which are very difficult to source now. And it is sort of impractical to import it from other provinces,” she said.
After participating in local bazaars and seeing the products sold there, Tarona said it was high time they introduced something new in the market to help the PDL.
“It’s time to bring it back but with a new look, so we added the twillies and the charms to make the bags more appealling to buyers,” she said.
The CCJ male dormitory currently has four weavers and one painter who produces the bags.
Standard bags are priced at P570 while the customized ones are priced at P2,300.
One inmate can finish four bags in a day while it would take three days up to a week to complete a personalized hand-painted bag.
This new livelihood product is called the “BayongCella.”
“Each BayongCella is hanwoven by our PDL using sturdy PP strap in six different colors (black, white, green, rose pink, yellow and blue). It comes in 10 different sizes and designs (extra small, small, medium, large tote, large classic bayong, extra large tote, extra large classic bayong, sling bag, backpack and hand bag). The Bayong can be artistically personalized by our PDL who handpaints each bag. All pieces come with twilly and charm,” the group’s Facebook post said.
The BayongCella will be launched and displayed at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology booth near the Metro Gaisano Supermarket entrance at the Ayala Center Cebu on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019.
The proceeds of the bags will be used to support the PDL workers and their families, and finance the other welfare and development programs for the PDL.