The thing about building our lives is that we often do it to establish a sense of permanence, but what happens when everything you’ve ever known and everything you’ve ever worked for gets bombed away in the blink of an eye?

Salika Maguindanao, a weaver from Marawi who got displaced during the siege, felt like she’d been thrown headfirst into ice-cold water. Forced out of her home and stripped of her livelihood, it seemed like everything she knew to be a part of her was gone. She was safe, technically, but was just as lost as everyone else. What was she going to do with herself now?

Being away from Marawi made her hold on to her culture like a lifeline - the only thing she had left that reminded her of who she was and where she came from. Together with her husband, they started Maranao Collectibles, a small business promoting the iconic Maranao langkit that Salika and her husband would weave themselves. Once things started to cool down in Marawi, the couple returned to their village where they found and recruited other weavers to join, and eventually the family business grew into a cooperative.

When USAID and Plan International’s Marawi Response Project (MRP) heard of them, they couldn’t turn a blind eye to their social and cultural impact. Wanting to help them on their mission of cultural revival and promotion, MRP took them under their wing and introduced Maranao Collectibles to a bigger stage. By simply walking beside them and offering suggestions, MRP guided them through their business ventures while still giving them the executive and creative freedom to do what they (Maranao Collectibles) believed would be best for business.

“Si MRP po, ang approach niya [the way MRP approached it] is that they showed us the path and it’s up to us if we are going to take the path,” Salika said. 

With their help, Maranao Collectibles found their way to national trade fairs like Manila FAME and the Mindanao Trade Expo, even going as far as securing big-time clients like the popular nationwide brand Ziya who released an entire collection of Maranao-inspired pieces with langktis weaved and produced by Maranao Collectibles. 

Salika also briefly mourned the old weaving skill which has unfortunately gone extinct over the years.

“Kung sana naipasa ito sa younger generation, hindi sana mawawala yung pag-gawa ng ganitong mga beautiful craft.”

[If only it were passed down to the younger generation, we wouldn’t have lost such a beautiful craft.]

She reiterated the importance of getting in touch and staying true to one’s culture and how it has helped them cope with everything that they lost to the siege as well as gave them something to hold on to during the pandemic.

Thanks to MRP, their business not only serves as a source of income for the couple and their weavers but is an integral player in promoting Maranao culture in the country. In this way, they have strengthened their sense of identity all while reminding fellow Filipinos of the largely overlooked cultural beauty Maranaos have to offer. (PJF/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)