Location: Naguilian, La Union  

Organized:  1989

Type of business:  Grass-root family led project

Products: Leather bags and accessories 

People's Recovery, Empowerment and
Development Assistance Foundation, Inc.

A family leather crafting business in La Union shows particular promise for a line of bags and small leather accessory items. Waste leather scrapes from the export assembly manufacturers in the free trade zones have given rise to the production of ingeniously fashioned new items by local tailors. Leather bags and accessory items are meticulously fashioned out of the small bits of salvaged usable leather and sewn together with a zigzag stitch in the small workshop beside his home.Mr. Mariano Delizo used to work in a tailor shop in Baguio City before he decided to open his own business in 1989. At the present time, Delizo has 6 workers who are family members and relatives.In the beginning, the finished leather articles were delivered to Baguio City and sold in several small tourist shops. Through the assistance of the

DTI (Department of Trade and Industry), they have been able to extend their marketing efforts by participating in trade fairs and special exhibitions at malls in and around Manila. In 2003 they will be participating in the National Trade Fair. The Design Center of the Philippines has developed several new purse designs, which will be executed for the fair. The small workforce and the unreliability of obtaining the leather scrapes have limited production. Mr. Delizo has plans to teach his neighbors and the Fair Trade Team brainstormed ideas for securing the waste leather in a more reliable way.

THEIR PRODUCTS:

Leather bags and accessories 2004
Leather bags and accessories 2003

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