DTI focuses on innovation in Sandugo Trade Expo on July 21-25

Innovation is the main focus for this year’s Sandugo Trade Expo 2010 which opens from July 21 to 25 at the Island City Mall, Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

Working on the theme “Materials Fusion - Heritage for the Future,” this year’s trade event will not only feature world class product lines and prototypes for handicraft, processed food, fashion accessories and GTH.

This year’s trade exhibition will also highlight the first output of the materials research and development program of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP).

Central Visayas is taking advantage of the popularity of indigenous materials among foreign buyers and the increasing preference of many consumers for environment-friendly products with the Materials R & D project.

ECCP is presently assisting raffia weavers in Bohol in developing new design patterns and mixed media applications based on the latest trends.

The output will be converted into actual products by select exporter companies who will have exclusivity on their chosen materials for at least a year. Other patterns developed will be displayed at the Materials Library at the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) building.

Bohol is one of the provinces in the region that supplies raffia of good quality and along with innovative and artistic designs by weavers, Cebu exporters expect more Filipino made products to hit it big in the international market.

”As demand for Filipino products increases, so does profit for exporters. This provides more work opportunities for weavers”, DTI explains.

“With mixed media applications, weavers use recycled materials such as newspapers and old plastic twine with raffia. They also use other indigenous materials like buri and abaca, among others, in incorporating the new designs.”

So far, the program has tapped the weavers in Inabanga and Tubigon towns. The program will also be offered to weaving centers in other Bohol municipalities if the volume of products increases, DTI said.

The innovation of Bohol’s weaving centers is a seven-month project of the ECCP and the DTI in Central Visayas.

Materials R & D began in January this year and is geared to assist raffia weavers, particularly in the enhancement of their skills and improvement of their product designs.

As in the past, there will be guest exhibitors from other regions during the Sandugo Trade Expo.

The trade expo is a culmination of a series of product development initiatives geared towards improving the quality and design of the export oriented crafts and ethnic food in Central Visayas.

Bohol’s annual Sandugo Trade Expo has been running every July for the last twenty one years. This fair is one of the longest running annual provincial trade fair in the country and it has already established name recall and recognition among local and international buyers,