The Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI) trained Central Philippines State Universityโs local weavers on natural dye extraction last October 14-16, 2024.
The four-man expert team from the DOST-PTRI Main and Region 6 offices in partnership with the Universityโs Research and Development Services, headed by Dr. Angelie Rose L. Lumba conducted the Natural Dye Extraction and Textile Application Training for women weavers under the CPSU Handloom Weaving Project.
Through the training facilitated under the banner of the Frontier program, local weavers were taught how to dye threads using Indigenous materials like coconut husks, mahogany leaves, turmeric, mango leaves, etcโwith these materials having no economic value in their unprocessed forms. DOST-PTRIโs Frontier program aims to establish several hubs in strategic regions of the country and to capacitate local communities by introducing weaving and relevant technologies, and to help weaving-capable communities broaden their skills and help locals in preserving tangible pieces of their culture through weavingโintroducing science in technology in cultural preservation. The hubs expected to be erected under the program are the Natural Fiber Textile Innovation (NFTR) hubs which will house processes in converting natural fibers into yarns, and the Natural Dye Hubs, which are facilities that enable the up-skilling of communities in using natural resources for dyeing, and the Regional Handloom Weaving Innovation Center hubs in strategic which provided access to handloom equipments for locals to use. When asked why they chose CPSU as their partner state university within Negros Occidental, Mr. Randy A. Sales, Project Technical Assistant VI answered, โI think CPSUโs location is very strategic and it has a lot of agricultural research endeavorsโฆWe previously met with President Moraca and he mentioned the availability of resources not only for natural dyes but also for natural fibers which gave us the impression that establishing facilities within the campus would be very ideal.โ The extraction and use of natural dye from locally sourced materials is expected to increase the marketability of CPSU Handloom Weaving Projectโs textile products as it uses raw materials that are often discarded but are repurposed to provide sophisticated colors like old rose and rust. Erica Mae Joy Tayhon, a CPSU handloom weaver, expressed, โI am very interested because, before this training, I didnโt know that coconut husks and various leaves can be used as dyesโdyes of beautiful color shades. I believe we will try to continue using the knowledge and skills that we have learned so we can be more self-sufficient somehow by dyeing our threads and being less dependent on commercially sold materials. I thank our trainers from DOST-PTRI who taught us a lot about dyeing.โ In addition, the replicable extraction and dyeing process using indigenous materials could inspire more income-generating initiatives among locals, and could also be explored by students and faculty in future research studies to enrich the pool of knowledge in the local and global academe. The signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between CPSU and DOST-PTRI for the establishment of a Natural Dye Hub on the campus is also being anticipated.
