The word Lumad is a Visayan term which means “born of the earth” or “native.” According to a study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), they are known to be the largest indigenous group in the Philippines where it has 14 to 17 million indigenous people who belong to 110 ethnolinguistic groups.
HOME Plush Toys has just introduced a Philippine Indigenous Dolls Collection centered around the Lumad. This whole collection features dolls that showcase the beauty of our Filipino culture, specifically, to the younger generation who will learn from these toys. Learning from these toys that there are diverse groups of other Filipinos in our country will give children the opportunity to know more about the history of the indigenous groups.
A social and cultural enterprise that works primarily on preserving and promoting hand woven Philippine weaves through contemporary design called ANTHILL Fabric Gallery mainly targets the market in order to sustain the livelihood and tradition of their partner weaving community enterprises.
To add to how heartwarming the goal of the products is, ANTHILL’s mission states:
Our ancestors considered our Philippine weaves our second skin. We find that compellingly beautiful. It is heart-woven to represent our story, our heritage and our way of life. We wear who we are. The presence of modernization and the influx of cheap import substitutes led to the decline of this tradition. Weaving became an undervalued skill unattractive amongst the young because of its limited access to markets.
Our purpose is to celebrate our culture and preserve this living tradition by providing enabling environments that will support sustainable livelihood. At ANTHILL, we work to rethread the tapestry that connects us to the past, to our cultural identity as Filipinos. We seek to retain weaving as a way of life and to wear who we are — our story and heritage.
Handcrafters of Mary Enterprise (HOME) is part of the ANTHILL community sewing enterprise consisting of tireless, hardworking mother artisans in Tisa and Gawad Kalinga Minglanilla, Cebu, Philippines. The main goal of this community and the creative mothers who make stunning and designs that are put together to create such playful and unique plush toys where it contributes to a sustainable livelihood.
As children will look at dolls merely as maybe a companion or just for entertainment, these dolls open up a conversation on the world they live in. The indigenous groups will be celebrated as these wonderful dolls will open stories based on the distinct hand-woven traditional wear.
Now, you can take home your very own Lumad Doll from the HOME Plush Toys Collection through their Facebook Page where you’ll be glad to hear, they also ship internationally.
Would you want to buy one as well?
