Iguig, Cagayan—Ancestors of the Itawes tribe in barangay Atulo in Iguig, Cagayan left the art of pottery making in their village as part of their culture.
Today, villagers are now engaged in pottery business, ever grateful for their skills as they express their pride and gratitude for their abundant soil resources from God.
Aside from agriculture, the soil provides livelihood for the villagers, transforming them into quality clay products of various sizes and shapes.
Through the art of pottery which was handed down by their Itawes ancestors, they manually shape them into flower pots, jars, cooking pans, water jars and bricks, among others giving them income for their families.
“Our pottery skills has been the major capital in making clay-products as a source of livelihood among the Itawes tribe in our town. This is where they earn income just to send their children to school,” said Lorna Banatao Pido, 68, the first seller of pottery products of Iguig since the 1990s.
Many pottery products are made and formed manually by the villagers, using locally-made tools to shape and cook them in various works of art within their own backyards using rice straws.
It takes an hour or more to cook these pottery products depending on their sizes and shapes before they are displayed along the alley.
Starting their trade from producing household products like rice bowls, cooking pans, water jars and small flower pots they further ventured into producing home decorations such as huge jars, mini-fountains and other products based on the specified orders of their customers.
Norma Pabillar, 55, said she can produce at least eight cooking pans in a day, depending on the supply of soil and clay they get for free within their barangay.
She said the community has been very grateful for the natural blessing of rich natural resource in their town.
“Our supply of soil which we transform into clay products using the art of pottery has been a major factor for the improvement of economic life among our villagers,” Pabillar added.
Analiza Lagundi, 47, a mother of four who was in the pottery making business for 27 years, also admitted that she was able to send their children to school through their income from pottery making.
“Me and my husband make our pottery products and we earn P3000.00 or more in a week by selling our products. It takes teamwork to make these products especially huge ones,” she added.
Local and foreign tourists including their fellow villagers usually buy their products which are displayed in front of several houses.
The cultural value and economic contribution of pottery making in Iguig has convinced local government officials to identify their clay products as the One Town, One Product feature of the municipality.
On June 23 to 25 each year, Iguig also celebrates the ‘Minabbanga’ or pottery making festival to promote the Itawes culture and heritage by showcasing their native products.
Iguig pottery makers only hope that their products will be further promoted to attract more buyers and patrons.
“In this way, we can further sustain pottery making as our livelihood and preserve our culture as a unified cultural identity of our municipality towards economic development and prosperity,” Lagundi stressed.
