Bukidnon’s ikam weaving: From a vanishing tradition to a trademarked legacy
By Janina Lim | March 12, 2025
The ancient practice of Ikam weaving from the Bukidnon province involves several steps, unfolding over many days and nights to make a single mat come to life.
Decades ago, before the convenience of habal-habal rides, the process would start with a 30-minute hike and then a two-hour toil to harvest sodsod grass. In the next few days, the grass would be dried, dyed and combed. The weavers wait for the right conditions—either dusk or dawn. And for at least two weeks, they bend over the threads, their hands moving in quiet rhythm, until a masterpiece emerges—an ikam mat with psychedelic spiraling patterns and vibrant bands.
It was this long process, however, that dispelled many away from the charm of the tradition, coupled with the meager returns from the trade—one mat was often bartered for a kilo of rice or fish after hours of roaming town for a sale. Ikam weaving was disappearing by the early 2000s, used only as humble sleeping mats or appearing at the spectacle of celebrations. It was hard to imagine it surviving the rapid changes sweeping through Bukidnon, let alone become a centerpiece of thriving commercial and cultural success.
But it all changed when one ikam mat made its way into the wedding of Lorielinda Marte. A gift to welcome her to the Bukidnon-Tagoloanen tribe, the mat captivated her curiosity, as though whispering old stories that inspired her to weave new life to the tradition.
Lorie Marte at the Manila Fame Exhibit 2024 held in October at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
Photo from the TWWA Facebook page.
Gifts from deities and dreams
The ikam mats are formed from interlocked sodsod strands. They signify patience and precision achievable only by hand. The patterns woven into each mat reflect the tribes’ deep connection to nature: binuntod (mountains), binula-bula (bubbles), binaksan (snake) and binutuon (stars).
These patterns, including the bakunayu (cross), tinulisan (diamonds) and kabuka (small diamonds), are also considered gifts from Magbabaya—the supreme being—often revealed in dreams. For them, to weave an ikam mat is to translate visions into threads and to honor the gifts of nature and their god.
Marte was drawn not only to the artistry but also to the sodsod material itself—pliable yet sturdy, much like the peace-loving and resilient tribes who wove it. Armed with these qualities, she and her husband founded the Tagolwanen Women Weavers Association (TWWA) in 2012, a social enterprise set out to revive ikam weaving with only a modest capital of P500—but a strong support system from the public and private sectors.
The TWWA showroom over the years. (Right) Formerly known as the Bukidnon Arts & Crafts, the TWWA store opened in 2012 with various local products on display. (Left) Today, in a more spacious showroom in the the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Hub in Bukidnon, bags, mats and wall decors of vibrant colors and patterns sit on the TWWA shelves, showing the group’s shift to focus on ikam weaving. The TWWA was a partner-operator of the Department of Trade and Industry’s OTOP Hub which also displays all local products assisted by the DTI. Photos from the TWWA Facebook page.
Going int’l with social media
In 2012, Marte turned to social media at a time when online shopping in the Philippines was still in its infancy. She hoped to find buyers who would value the ikam mat as more than a mat and as a piece of art and culture worth preserving and sharing with the world. “We realized social media could help the ikam gain recognition, spark interest among the next generation and add value,” Marte explained.
The response was overwhelming. Ikam mats found new markets in the United States, Australia, Turkey and Europe, with orders sometimes in bulk. This success motivated the TWWA to innovate, and soon they were weaving ikam patterns onto handbags, baskets and hats.
By 2017, the TWWA had become a mainstay in prestigious exhibits, such as the Manila FAME, joining top-notch export products and services. They would come home with all products nearly sold and with a list of additional orders from local and international designers, hotel operators and cultural advocates like Senator Loren Legarda.
The growing recognition—and threats of imitations—prompted the social enterprise to file for trademark protection in 2018. Marte did so through the Juana Make a Mark Program of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), which provided her with discounted registration and comprehensive support to understand the ways the IP system can help protect their tradition.
Courtesy call at IPOPHL. (Left to right) IPOPHL Information Officer Janina Lim, Weaver Mylene Salihay, Weaver Eva Balahay, Director General Brigitte M. da Costa-Villaluz, TWWA Founder Lorielinda Marte and Information Officer Hannah Lucero met at the IPOPHL office in Taguig City as the TWWA made a courtesy call to the Director General on February 21, 2025. DG da Costa-Villaluz assured the TWWA of continued assistance and encouraged the social enterprise to actively protect its other potential IP assets. Photo from the TWWA Facebook page.
“We’re thankful for the patience of the IP Satellite Office-Cagayan De Oro in helping us understand the essence of IP to social enterprises like us. Now that we know, we’re more empowered to protect our works,” Marte added.
IPOPHL continues to provide assistance to the TWWA in their IP concerns, such as their ongoing efforts to protect their industrial design and explore filing through Madrid Protocol. The agency also regularly invites the TWWA to its IP learning sessions whenever they visit IPOPHL’s IP Helpdesk in Bukidnon.
Women as entrepreneurs and cultural guardians
When Marte first started the TWWA, she only managed to find one weaver who believed in her vision—others felt embarrassed about the idea of making cheaply sold mats. “They felt discriminated because they were lumads and they did not yet see the beauty in what they do,” Marte said.
(Left) Weaver Raquel Sumala interlacing sodsod threads as a demonstration of the ikam weaving practice at the TWWA’s showroom store in Malaybalay City. Photo from the TWWA Facebook page.
(Right) TWWA bags featuring a combination of patterns, showing the works of expert weavers and the innovation of the craft. Photo from the TWWA Facebook page.
But as the TWWA began to make inroads in local and international markets and mats fetched a higher commercial value—one ikam mat now costs at least P1,500—more women joined the cause. Today, the social enterprise is kept alive and thriving on the strength of over 140 lumad women from the Bukidnon-Tagoloanen and Higaonon tribes, each finding empowerment from their newly gained financial stability and the fulfillment in standing guardians of their cultural heritage.
“Their morale was boosted. Many tribal women have earned enough to send their kids to college and saw them finish with diplomas. It changed their lives,” Marte said.
Among them is Eva Balahay, 52, who is among the weavers who have felt the weight of scrutiny whenever she was seen carrying sodsod grass. The discrimination derives from the low value of ikam mats then. Now, her entire family helps during harvest.
“Pera na iyan, bakit pa ikakahiya [This already gives income. Why be ashamed of it?” Balahay recalls her husband saying while a cluster of freshly picked sodsod grass was hoisted on his shoulders. Balahay’s income from weaving helped her see her two kids through college up until graduation while extra income from weaving is used to purchase inputs for their rice farm.
TWWA weavers with Ambassador Anne Louis of the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain. The Philippine Embassy tapped the TWWA in a talk for the Filipino community. The Embassy also collaborated with the Bahrain Authorities for Culture and Antiquities for a workshop where TWWA weavers taught basic techniques using the leaves of palm dates, Bahrain’s national tree. The activities form part of the Spring of Culture Festival which offers a diverse lineup of events and performances celebrating Bahrain’s rich culture. Photo from the TWWA Facebook page.
From the constant struggle of finding a proper workspace for weavers and the nerve-wracking moments of counting up their sales from Manila exhibits, which only then will they know if they’ve earned enough for a ticket back home, the TWWA has emerged as a model to economies aiming to revive traditions and empower indigenous women.
In 2018, the TWWA was conferred with the Gawad Gabay award by the National Commission for Culture and Arts. The TWWA’s practice also became one of the case studies for UNESCO’s research on the link between women, cultural heritage revival and sustainable development and was featured in an ASEAN MSME event where weavers showcased their skills and experience. In February 2025, Marte and her team flew to Bahrain to participate in the Spring of Culture Festival to share their success story and bring hope to fellow weavers from the foreign land.
In 2025, something bigger is yet to come for the TWWA as it expects the completion of its Heritage Center which will serve as a sanctuary to further innovate ikam weaving techniques and pass down the tradition to the youth.
A daily weave
Funded by the Australian Embassy and supported by the BPI Foundation, the 196-square-meter TWWA Heritage Center will serve as the group’s headquarters, where weavers can gather, develop products, share techniques and train the next generation of cultural guardians. Located in Malaybalay City, a middle point for the six barangays where the weavers come from, the Heritage Center could mean increased meetings, greater productivity, expanded incomes and even access to health insurance.
The Heritage Center is situated in the middle point of the six barangays where the TWWA weavers come from. It hopes to soon provide a Photo from Lorielinda Marte.
But more than a stable future for the women weavers, the Heritage Center offers a richer future for Bukidnon where culture will remain to be part of and not left behind.
Today, the Bukidnon-Tagoloanen and Higaonon women weave while exchanging stories, watching over their children and after dreaming of patterns that could inspire their next masterpiece. Ikam weaving was saved from being shelved behind museum glasses, becoming a part of the daily lives of the lumads and a fixture to many homes and establishments, their beauty welcoming guests at entrances, captivating in hotel lounges and alluring with stories of hope and revival. From the threads, the TWWA trademark was born to be a symbol of resilience, cultural pride and women empowerment—a true mark of a new life for the nearly forgotten indigenous tradition.