Felipa Tulipa

Senior Sewer

Felipa is one of Narda’s senior sewers. She’s been with Narda’s since 1997. She’s from Tinoc, Ifugao but settled with her husband in La Trinidad, Benguet. Her story joining Narda’s is a peculiar one. Her sister-in-law who was with Narda’s then resigned to go abroad. But her supervisor then asked her to please not leave until here’s a replacement. So she recruited Felipa who was a housewife then. Without any background in sewing, aside from tinkering with her sister-in-law’s sewing machine from time to time, she agreed for her first work. Lucky for Narda’s! She’s dedicated, diligent and quick to learn. Another Cordilleran mother natural. Once she sat at the industrial sewing machine, she just knew instinctively what to do. She quickly learned the more intricate sewing techniques.

Three years after joining Narda’s, her husband died of heart attack. Her youngest of 4 children was just in Grade 1 then. She gets sentimental recollecting that without Narda’s, she couldn’t have raised her children and send them to school. She’s grateful for Narda’s support as well for the nice camaraderie of her fellow staff, most have been with Narda’s as long as she did, some even much longer. She learned at Narda’s the value of perseverance, dedication and quality of work, which she imparted to her children growing up.

As modest as most Cordilleran craftswomen, she’s not conscious of her part in preserving the Cordilleran hand weaving tradition. It’s just something that has to be done, not mindful of her remarkable cultural contribution. It’s not just weaving after all that preserves the tradition but the whole production line of creating products that makes it sustainable. And more importantly, she teaches her skills to the next generation that will keep the tradition alive.