Natural dyeing in the Philippines is a significant part of traditions and culture of the indigenous communities. But the prevalence of synthetic dyes paved the way for the gradual demise of this traditional practice. It was in 2005 when CMCC (when it was still a program under the Non-Timber Forest Products Task Force) started working with these indigenous communities to revive the use of natural dyes on their hand-woven fabrics. The work focused mainly on natural dye application on traditional hand-woven textiles of the Ifugao, T’boli and Higaonon communities in the Cordillera Region, South Cotabato and Bukidnon respectively. CMCC, in partnership with PTRI, provided technical assistance in optimizing and standardizing the traditional method of natural dyeing. The objective is to help the communities in generate needed income from their crafts by increasing the value of their traditional products.
