Pinoy’s famous “bayong” to spark new export industry?
What’s a “bayong” ? It’s just a simple woven flat basket made of buri, bamboo or rattan strips that grandma loves bringing around to the market when buying things for the kitchen.
This may come as a surprise to many, but indications show “bayong” could spark a whole new export industry in the Philippines.
Growing worries over billions of plastic bags polluting the environment and clogging canals forced China recently to ban the use of plastic bags, promptly ordering its Chinese citizens in the mainland to start using baskets or re-usable cloth bags for either shopping or going to the market.
A China state council statement said that “plastic shopping bags, due to reasons of excessive use and inefficient recycling, caused serious wastes of energy and resources as well as environment pollution”.
Chinese citizens were warned that those violating the ban will pay high penalties and the government will close down shops still using plastic bags.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Merly Cruz said this new regulation in China to replace the use of plastic bags with baskets and reusable cloth bags could spark a new export industry in the country.
“This is a big opportunity for all “bayong” makers in every region of the country to take advantage of this potential demand in China,” Cruz said.
In Pampanga, mayors’ wives early this year banded together and launched a campaign to revive the use of “bayong” to replace the use of plastic bags given away free by stores, shops, supermarkets, etc. in packing grocery items for customers.
“It’s staggering — plastic bags are used 80 percent of all groceries and stores worldwide. Around a trillion plastic bags are consumed daily worldwide. In our own country, the pollution caused by plastic bags is devastating, “says Lani Pelayo, head of the Pampanga mayors’ wives group who led a campaign to use re-usable and bio-degradable “bayong” in the province.
To make sure their “bayong” movement takes off successfully, the mayors’ wives distributed 200,000 “bayong” — handwoven buri bags to thousands of housewives throughout the province of Pampanga.
Baguio City later adopted the “bayong” project to spread the movement in the country’s summer capital — making it unlawful for people to throw plastic bags anywhere, but rewarding people seen using the “bayong” in doing their grocery or going to the market.
The DTI is now drawing up plans for all the country’s regions to adopt this project and mobilize handicraft makers nationwide to boost production of “bayong”.
“It’s a very promising project that can provide livelihood,” Cruz said.
