Postcards from the village (1)

Barangay San Francisco, Bulusan

Weaving karagumoy hats is a major livelihood activity in Kapangihan also known as Barangay San Francisco in Bulusan. To supplement the harvests of coconut and pili nuts in the area, women make hats almost daily that can fetch at around 7.50pesos each. Weavers average to about 10 hats a day minimum.

Karagumoy hat weaving is a traditional craft that dates back in the early 1900. Early Chinese merchants of Bulusan were the first to trade the hats that continues up to the present.

As the karagumoy hats become an established commodity being traded in town, cultivation of karagumoy in farm patches became the norm. It is common to see karagumoy, an indigenous plant  from the pandan family, inter cropped between coconut and pili in almost all agricultural patches of land in Bulusan.

Photos: Alma P. Gamil
Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

Community Portraits

Memorable summer for these young locals enjoying cozy afternoon moments at the beach, Dancalan, Bulusan, 2013.

Drawing sand graffiti is playtime for kids at the seawall, Barangay Dapdap, Bulusan, 2013.

Candelaria celebration in Bulusan,  Feburary 2014.

Guest bikers wait for the go signal at the start of the Bulusan Mountain Bike Challenge  2013.

Happy hat weavers of Barangay Mabuhay in Bulusan, 2013.

Photographs by Alma P. Gamil

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines