In the quiet town of Santa Barbara in Iloilo, a group of women upholds the bobbin lace tradition that started as aid for sanitarium patients in the 1980s. It has evolved into a unique art form sustaining the community and tourism. Their work showcases resilience and the region's cultural depth.
The story of WUHTLE (Women United Through Handcrafted Lace and Embroidery) began at the Western Visayas Sanitarium in Santa Barbara during the 1980s. A patient's daughter gave an embroidered handkerchief to Sister Madeleine Dieryck, a Belgian missionary aiding leprosy-affected people. Impressed, Sister Dieryck taught embroidery, but patients struggled due to hand deformities from the disease.
While in Belgium, she learned bobbin lace, a method using pins, threads, and wooden bobbins instead of needles. Upon returning, she introduced it to the patients, who embraced it eagerly. By 1996, the group formed a formal cooperative.
Among those sustaining the craft is Lola Delia, 75, who has practiced bobbin lace for over three decades. Her fingers, deformed by illness, still move deftly. Today, around 30 makers remain active, fewer than at their peak years ago.
“It’s a rare craft, one of the most expensive laces in the world, and its production keeps shrinking as time goes by. To think that a small community of women here in Santa Barbara are its keepers makes their work extraordinary,” said Erlyn Alunan, a veteran Iloilo tour guide. “What began as a lifeline for those shunned because of their illness has become a unique heritage of the province.”
Works, from colorful birds to religious symbols, take a day to several weeks to complete. The craft provides income and aims to attract younger learners. Iloilo, known for hablon and patadyong weaving, pottery, basketry, and panubok embroidery, benefits from this addition to its tourism appeal.
“The value the bobbin lace makers bring to Iloilo’s tourism is immense, operating on three critical levels at once,” stated Krisma Rodriguez, Department of Tourism Region 6 Director. “It diversifies and deepens our portfolio by moving beyond grand heritage sites toward ‘slow tourism,’ offering immersive cultural experiences... It also champions sustainable, community-based tourism... Finally, it creates a cycle of heritage preservation...”