ILOILO, Philippines –
LABOR INTENSIVE. A member of the Women United Through Handcrafted Lace and Embroidery usually takes four days to complete this embroidered bird at their workshop in Santa Barbara, Iloilo province. Photo by Inday Espina-Varona/Rappler A white-on-white, floral blooms-embroidered hand towel also took four days to make; a doily in white, pale gold, and green, a week. Even with Ortega’s pre-visit briefing, it was easy to overlook the fact that the hands manipulating the wooden bobbins carried the scars ofJocelyn smiled as she chanted “one-two-three-four; one-two; one-two-three” to show how easy it is to keep rhythm.
Their mentors were the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary , better known as the nuns who run St. Theresa’s College. A cure had already been found for Hansen’s disease, and countries started using the cocktail of antibiotics in the 1980s. Atop a glass display station, a magazine article showed a bespoke lace wedding dress bolero that took three months to make.“The sisters encouraged young patients to pursue studies as they made lace and underwent treatment, and they are now teachers or other professionals,” Villan said.