BONTOC, Mountain Province (PIA) — In unwavering support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME), the Department of Trade and Industry(DTI) provincial office spearheaded the conduct of the 34th Mountain Province Craft Exposition – The New Edition featuring local products, Mangan Tako, and creative industry showcase.
With the tagline “Honoring Culture, Showcasing Craftsmanship,” this event from December 11 to 18, serves as a platform for MSMEs to display and directly sell their products to the public.
DTI Provincial Director Mabel F. Banggawan said the week-long activity celebrates creativity, diverse culture, and underscores the importance of supporting local industries in the province.
A new feature of the event was the Mangan Tako- Mountain Province edition where local chefs showed off cooking skills using “Watwat”(slice or slices of boiled meat distributed or shared as part of the meal of an Igorot feast or celebration) as the main ingredient.
Fusing locally sourced ingredients and indigenous knowledge in their dishes, three cooks from the municipalities of Sabangan, Sagada and Bauko joined in the said competition on Dec. 11.
The arts and crafts show, meanwhile, showcased shirt painting, clay doll making, and hena tattooing.
Still, dominating the craft expo are the food and non-food products of the MSMEs such as agricultural products, processed foods, handicrafts especially woven products, wearables, gifts and decors, woodcrafts, and other products.
DTI-CAR Regional Director Juliet P. Lucas iterated that MSMEs are the economic blood life, urging people to promote progress by supporting local initiatives and local products. She emphasized though the need for Mountain Province to promote branding.
“We have to have what we call collective branding that has to be supported by the LGUs. What is it about the products of Mountain Province na kung tinatak natin yan ay kailangan alam na alam nila na maganda,” she said.
Ghytee Wangali, an exhibitor from Sagada, expressed gratitude to the DTI for staging said activity.
“We know the sacrifices of the producers, farmers and processors, and if they do not have proper forum or platform to promote their products, definitely our farmers, producers and processors will struggle because they don’t have a market. Thank you to DTI for always pushing entrepreneurs, farmers and producers like us for the economy of our province” she said.
Other activities of this year’s Craft Expo include concerts featuring MPSPC Live Band and Danab’s Live Band, Mountain Province Book Authors’ Book Signing, cultural and creative shows, and the Diskwentro Caravan Noche Buena Edition. (JDP/CVBT-PIA CAR)
