When we finally met Noel after about thirty minutes of "quick-trekking" (I used this term as we cheated by trekking on the main roadway and not high up) Mt. Bandilaan, we saw him talking to a family on a motorcycle. We exchanged hellos with them and as I looked at the mother closely, asked if what she had with her was nito. She said yes, commenting that it was rare for a tourist to know nito.
Nito or lygodium circinatum is a kind of richly colored tropical vine of the fern family usually found clinging to trees and rocks in forests. It is typically woven into baskets, trays, place mats, coasters, etc. I am familiar with such because when I was in elementary, our teacher in EPP (Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan) had us complete a project of a wall decor made from nito vines.
The lady and her husband said they come to Mt. Bandilaan weekly to gather nito vines so she could weave them into trays. She said that her finished products are then paid for and collected by the local government, which in turn sells them to its clientele.
Below is a picture of the lady holding her newly gathered nito vines on her left hand and on her right hand, her finished product of a woven tray.
She preferred though that her face would not be visible thus the photo quality.
No comments:
Post a Comment