Hand in hand, holding up half the sky: 'Great Women' at Yuchengco Museum

Portraits of Filipinas by Canadian Luke Myers

 

"Women are the major producers and consumers. They actually move the world, maybe even more than men do, economically speaking," said ECHOsi Foundation, noting that women are responsible for work on 70 percent of agricultural land and also control 70 percent of the spending money that moves the local and the global economy. "It is said that women hold up half the sky. Can you imagine if all women held hands to lift the sky higher?" the foundation said. For many of these women micro-entrepreneurs, these products are the key to their family's survival. For Ronavelle Amen, peanut butter was the source of their daily income, as well as what enabled her and her brother to go to school. "Nagtapos pa po ako ng pagaaral, nagtrabaho din po ako. Pagkatapos noon, sinimulan ko na din ang paghawak ng negosyo na ito kasi po si Nanay tumatanda na," said Amen, who now sells peanut butter under the Great Women Brand, a marketing and branding platform whose objective is to help community-based products gain access to more markets. "It begins with each woman's dream of livelihood sustainability to support family, and open themselves to learn and work to make their products and enterprises better and walk the journey of an entrepreneur," said ECHOsi Foundation, the non-profit development arm of the women-led ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle retail brand and social enterprise. Arida Esmael, a weaver from Davao, shares that they were able to improve their product and widen their market by attending design clinics organized by the foundation. "Although matagal na kaming gumagawa niyan, wala pa yung 'ay mali yan o tama yan.' Natuto ako na kailangan pala namin iimprove yung gawa namin," Esmael said in a video on view at the exhibit. She shared that the weavers used to produce only after an order was placed, and there was little quality control.