Narda’s is a project by Wilson and Narda Capuyan that began in 1972 in La Trinidad, Benguet, Philippines, weaving blankets from recycled acrylic yarns. Narda, a family planning nurse whose hand-knitting hobby attracted mothers, encouraged women to weave to keep them busy rather than make more babies. Weaving is a traditional skill, and our indigenous women have now become productive weavers.

Through a series of experimentations, Narda revived the Cordilleran Ikat tradition of designing and dyeing threads in vibrant colors to suit contemporary tastes. Ikat is a very old tradition of tying and dyeing segments of threads before actual weaving. Narda’s new style of ikat in placemats, shawls, and bags became a hit with foreign buyers.

The highly innovative direction that the work has taken garnered Narda’s numerous awards for entrepreneurial excellence and for reviving a dyeing indigenous art. Leonarda O. Capuyan was named the Ernst and Young Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year in October 2013 under the auspices of EY Global and SGV Foundation. It is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. Narda’s continue to provide a livelihood to women weavers in the Cordillera.

The company continues to be managed by women, with her daughter, Lucia Capuyan-Catanes, serving as creative director.