OUR COLLECTION — ASIA — PHILIPPINES 76. DYED ABACA NATIVITY
This Nativity comes from the Philippines. This set has 6 figures: Mary, Joseph, Jesus, and three wise men. The tallest figure is approximately 4 inches.
The trader works with women in several small villages who make the figures from a fiber that comes from the abaca plant, which is part of the banana family. The fiber comes from the outer portion of the leafstalk. The fiber is stripped from the leaves, each strand ranging from 3 to 9 feet long, and washed and sun-dried. Then the strands are combed, dyed, cut to the desired length and glued one by one on the cardboard which forms the body shape.
Making these Nativities is work the women can do while watching their children, and it gives them a chance to add to their family income.
The trader works with women in several small villages who make the figures from a fiber that comes from the abaca plant, which is part of the banana family. The fiber comes from the outer portion of the leafstalk. The fiber is stripped from the leaves, each strand ranging from 3 to 9 feet long, and washed and sun-dried. Then the strands are combed, dyed, cut to the desired length and glued one by one on the cardboard which forms the body shape.
Making these Nativities is work the women can do while watching their children, and it gives them a chance to add to their family income.