Lauren Ainella Tagle

Weaving Dreams Abroad: Hibla PH Marks a Milestone in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

September 24, 2025
3:51 am

The dream to extend Hibla Philippines to Canada began in 2022. What started as a hazy vision finally took shape on May 1, 2025, when Hibla formally established its presence in Edmonton, Alberta. Through the support of the NAIT or Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Blue Book Program, Hibla Philippines is now officially registered to operate as Hibla PH Canada.

The NAIT Blue Book Program is a 16-week pre-accelerator designed to transform ideas into viable businesses. Participants test assumptions through market experiments, such as pop-ups, and receive mentorship from industry professionals. At the end of the program, they are awarded a startup grant of CAD 1,000 to help bring their projects to life.

“The benefit for Hibla was having a clear step-by-step guide on where to begin,” shared Kaedee Fythe, Hibla’s International Relations Affiliate and Engagement Facilitator in Edmonton, who spearheaded the process. A graduate student of NAIT, Kaedee learned about the program and enrolled on behalf of Hibla, laying the foundation for Hibla PH Canada.

On August 31, 2025, Hibla PH Canada successfully completed the NAIT Blue Book Program, a milestone that marks the beginning of a new chapter.

What the Blue Book Program of NAIT Is About

The Entrepreneurial Blue Book Program of NAIT’s Mawji Centre is designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs transform ideas into viable businesses. Delivered online and self-paced, the program guides participants through a structured 16-week process of assumption testing, market validation, branding, and financial planning. Along the way, entrepreneurs gain access to mentorship from industry experts, training from guest speakers, and practical exercises like pop-up markets to test products directly with communities.

For Hibla PH Canada, the Blue Book Program provided not just a roadmap but also a safety net—clarifying licensing processes, connecting with professionals, and even offering a startup grant upon completion. This framework allowed Hibla to experiment with Canadian audiences, gauge interest in handwoven textiles, and establish a foundation for operations in Edmonton. More than a training program, the Blue Book became the bridge between vision and practice, equipping Hibla to plant roots in a new cultural landscape while staying true to its mission of heritage preservation.

Five Times a Charm

Within three months, Hibla PH Canada held five pop-up events across Edmonton. June, coinciding with Filipino Heritage Month in Canada, became especially significant.

The first pop-up, held on June 1 during the Philippine Arts Council’s event Echoes of Identity: Tracking Filipino Cultural Landscapes in Edmonton, happened almost by chance. With only a week to prepare, Kaedee showcased handwoven textiles shipped from Nice Marquez’s U.S. tour. The response was overwhelming, sparking further invitations.

On June 7, Hibla joined the Filipino Heritage Month Celebration in Mabuhay Park, braving strong winds to keep their display standing. “People were very curious about the textiles. They love to know the context,” Kaedee recalled.

Kaedee Fythe in Hibla PH Canada’s first 3 events across Alberta

By June 14, Hibla was at the 127th Philippine Independence Day Gala. Though still operating without a license to sell, Hibla presented handwoven garments that caught the attention of guests. “We glammed up. Everyone looked beautiful, but we were the only ones wearing handwoven textiles — and people said, ‘This is heritage.’”

After a pause in July, Hibla returned for EPIC Alberta’s Summer Saya on August 9. With new marketing tools like retractable banners, Hibla earned a Certificate of Appreciation for supporting the Filipino-Canadian community.

The final event, Sari Sari Mercado YEG: Chinatown Summer Festival on August 31, proved to be the biggest success. The display drew large crowds, and Kalinga scarves nearly sold out. Visitors asked about future workshops, sample fabrics, and even volunteer opportunities.

In just three months, Hibla PH Canada built strong connections and sparked new conversations about heritage.

Through Thick and Thin

The journey was not without challenges. From unpredictable Edmonton weather to transportation issues and tight budgets, every event demanded resilience. Most of the display materials were borrowed, handmade, or personally funded by Kaedee.

“It’s a community. It’s not just a ‘me’ effort,” she emphasized, crediting family, friends, and volunteers for their support.

Each booth became a living museum. Visitors from Filipino-Canadians to newcomers and artists expressed awe upon learning that every textile was handwoven. Many asked about workshops, eager to immerse themselves in the craft.

“They’re being presented with opportunities to connect with heritage in the simplest ways,” Kaedee shared.

Despite external hurdles like tariffs and border challenges, Hibla PH Canada embraced adaptation and authenticity. “We’re here to provide a glimpse of heritage that, whatever external factors may shut it down, it withstands, just as these weaves have survived for centuries.”

Forging New Paths

With the NAIT Blue Book Program complete, Hibla PH Canada is now looking ahead to heritage festivals, Filipino-centric events, and even the holiday season. Interest is growing not just in Edmonton but also in Quebec and beyond, with calls to extend Hibla’s reach into the U.S.

For Hibla Philippines’ 5th anniversary, Hibla PH Canada will host its first-ever weaving workshop at EPIC Alberta’s Sama-Sama Kultura: Exploring Filipino Heritage, Together! in October 2025.

“People are looking for opportunities to experience the art, the craft, the immersion,” Kaedee said. “Hibla is there at any time for them. It’s accessible. We just provide opportunities and that’s what we’re here for.”

WATCH: 3 Short Documentaries that Spotlight Philippine Traditional Weaving

September 3, 2025
2:36 am

Nothing can cut the strings that intertwine our culture. The custom of Philippine traditional weaving has endured through the generations of colonization and now it is persevering through the ever-evolving modern fashion world. However, even if it is an immortalized facet of Philippine history, how much do we actually know about it?

Weaving in the Philippines is a traditional artform that utilizes the natural resources of the environment, ranging from materials like abaca, cotton, and piña, to make the fibers that are woven as a fabric. Even herbal extracts such as leaves, roots and plants are used to dye these fabrics for certain designs. It is not only these external factors that contribute to the final product, but symbolism and emotions meld into these looms through the weavers’ hands.

As a practice that is passed down through generations, Philippine traditional weaving is not something that is merely learned by the books, but it is watched thoroughly by successors, apprentices and scholars alike. It takes more than researching to delve into the world of traditional weaving.

To fully immerse yourself and see these practices in action, here are three short documentaries that can deepen your interest in Philippine traditional weaving:

Traditional Weaving in the Philippines – Ilocos Region (2018) by KULTURA PRODUCTIONS

Screencap pulled from Youtube. Video: Traditional Weaving in the Philippines – Ilocos Region.

As modernization continues to dominate the Philippine fashion market, it now lacks the space reserved for traditional weaving to thrive in. It will be washed away as merely history and not current culture. These are the worries of Philippine traditional weavers.

In Traditional Weaving in the Philippines – Ilocos Region (2018), we traverse through the livelihood of the people residing in Ilocos Norte. Here, we are introduced to the traditional handwoven textile Abel Iloko or Inabel.

The 9 minute documentary, posted by CIIT Philippines on YouTube, features GAMABA 2012 Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan awardee Magdalena Gamayo. Her story unfolds as a weaver from her younger days to her now, where she still stands strong teaching Inabel weaving to apprentices.

From the lack of market to the rise of artificial cheaper textiles, Traditional Weaving in the Philippines – Ilocos Region highlights, not only the history, but the conflicts arising as a traditional weaver in the contemporary world.

Likha-an: Habi ng Yakan (2019) by ELVERT BAÑARES

Screencap pulled from Youtube. Video: NCCA | Habi ng Yakan | Documentary

Weaving has always been more than meets the eye. Between each design and color selection is symbolism rooted in the connection the weaver has with their family, environment, and especially themselves. To weavers, their mood and personality reflects in its creation and process.

Likha-an: Habi ng Yakan (2019) follows the traditional weaving of the Yakan people, hailing from the island of Basilan. From young to old, this 21 minute documentary, posted by TribuneNOW on YouTube, features Yakan weavers, among them was the late Ambalang Ausalin, another GAMABA awardee who was the 2016 Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan.

The documentary teaches viewers the specifics of Yakan weaving, from the meaning of the loom position to the different types of design. As a practice intricately woven into their history and culture, Yakan weaving is perpetually believed in, looked up to, and learned from throughout generations.

More about the symbolism in Yakan weaving can be found in this Hibla Philippines blog called An Exploration of Floral Patterns in Philippine Textile (Part 2), written by Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero.

Piña: The Pineapple Textile of Aklan, Western Visayas (2020) by ICHCAP & NCCA

Screencap pulled from Youtube. Video: Philippines_Pina Weaving

It takes, not just a weaver, but a community to produce the Philippines’ widely known textile. From what is popularly known to be used in Barong Tagalog and other formal Philippine wear, piña cloth is created by the hearts and hands of Aklan.

In Piña: The Pineapple Textile of Aklan, Western Visayas (2020), it takes viewers on a journey, introducing them to concepts beyond the craft, but through the culture of Aklan, where the piña weaving originates and continues to be produced. It has made itself an important hallmark of their culture.

Recently recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), piña weaving is thoroughly discussed in this documentary through its many stages of production. Starting from the pineapple’s cultivation in its farm, the leaves’ extraction into fibers, the method of pricing, the actual weaving, then to its final creation.

This 27 minute documentary, posted by UNESCO ICHCAP on YouTube, highlights the contributions of the entire community of Aklan, making it known that each job is equally important as the other.

Weaving is a dedicated art that is carried on through history. As it is preserved and learned, the practice can even be picked up by those outside the culture. In contemporary times, social enterprises, like Hibla Philippines, collaborate with such weaving communities to empower their work and help them break into the current fashion world. The integration of traditional clothes to the modern style has cemented itself in everyday fashion, and we see the silhouette of our ancestors through our clothes.