THE multi-sectoral “Kalibutan Project” will start selling its products this month.
Debbie Palao, creative director of Kalibutan Project, believes the market is now ready to see the final products that are made in collaboration by artisans and designers.
“These are sustainable products that came about because of the pandemic,” said Palao.
She said these products are in the form of Do-it-Yourself (DIY) kits that are suited to the current pandemic lifestyle as well as Filipino-culture and folklore-inspired products.
These DIY kits can be a plant care kit for the plantita, or a game for young children, or objects to help make everyday work from home scenarios better, according to the project’s website.
Showcase
Products of Kalibutan Project were initially showcased in June this year at the Ayala Center Cebu. This month through a three-day pop-up on dates yet to be announced, products of Kalibutan Project will be made available to the public at the Bonifacio District.
Palao said the group desires to reignite once again market’s interest on local products crafted by the hands of communities in the Visayas.
She said the Kalibutan Project’s advocacy is sustainability and authenticity of the designs.
Palao said this collaborative effort pushes Central Visayas’ agenda on accelerating and advancing the creative industries of the region and at the same time promoting fair trade practices with partner-communities.
Thirty-nine small craft businesses have been working closely with a team of designers across four provinces in the Philippines to help them come up with new product offerings that are essential during this pandemic era.
Dubbed Kalibutan Project, this latest initiative spearheaded by the Department of Trade and Industry 7 “brings together designers, craft businesses and artisans to exchange ideas, learn new ways of making and explore what it means to be a maker and a designer during the pandemic.”
This project is supported by the Design Center of the Philippines with the participation of a select group of product and communication designers all across the region led by Palao.
Of the 39 small and medium enterprises, 15 are from Cebu, 10 from Negros Oriental, four from Siquijor and 10 from Bohol.
“Kalibutan is a product development project. We wanted to help our micro, small and medium enterprises pivot in terms of their product offerings because Covid has really changed the market and buying behaviors,” said DTI 7 Director Ma. Elena Arbon in an interview.