The Stunning Banigs of Basey, Samar
After descending the bus in Basey, we walked along the sunny streets towards Delza’s Native Products.We included this part of Samar in our itinerary because of the stunning Basey banigs, handwoven mats usually used in the Philippines for sleeping and sitting.
Tara wanted to purchase some of Basey weavers’ intricately woven creations and take them home.
At Delza’s Native Products, we found gorgeous Basey banigs and other woven products: bags, purses, and chairs. Their creations are a merge of hip and Filipino. I loved every product we saw!
It takes them about three weeks to finish a Basey banig, way shorter than the tinalak by the dream weavers of Lake Sebu, which takes about six months to complete. This, I understand, was because they have several people working on each product.
We then walked to an old church nearby. And, when we got there, I found out I left my phone at Delza’s Native Products.
So, I walked and returned to see if my phone was still there. And it was! They returned it to me and told me that, “Dito naman pag naiwan mo, walang problema. Pwede mong balikan.” I thanked them profusely.
This is what I love the most about traveling to Philippine provinces vs within the metro, i.e., the people are trustworthy and you can almost always count on finding your lost items where you left them.
After having lunch with our fantastic Couchsurfing host, Fernz, we hopped on a bus and headed to Tacloban airport for our flight to Manila.
