From husk to handbag

"Corn husk bags?"

"Yeah, those are corn husk bags!"

That is the typical exchange triggered by the sight of these curiosities to hit town of late. How did they come to be?

Well, Bayambang is often called the “cornbelt of Pangasinan,” so the Local Council of Women of Bayambang headed by Niña Jose-Quiambao took advantage of this huge resource of the town by thinking of ways of turning the equally huge refuse of the corn farming industry -- corn husks -- into something profitable. The result is LCW's corn husk bag project.

Founded last year for non-working mothers, the project is envisioned not just to give livelihood to the women but also to promote environment-friendly livelihoods.

Otherwise making up mountains of garbage, in Bayambang, corn husks are now being used as raw material for making not just quality women's handbags but also handicrafts of excellent design as well as strings and ropes, etc.

LCW officer Jocelyn S. Espejo recounts that LCW had brought in trainors who are experts in handcrafts design to teach their women workers who are often homemakers and mothers with a lot of free time in their hands. Showing how some of the workers do their craft, Espejo explains that 16 strings of corn husks can make a small bag, and the bag can be finished from just half a day up to one day. A big bag, she says, can be finished within three days.

Noting how evidently stylish their work products are, one would never think they are made of corn farm byproducts. But with the LCW's pluck and creativity, their workers prove that it is possible.