Traditional hand-woven textiles are produced in one third of provinces in the Philippines and throughout the Indonesian archipelago. They are used in home ware and decoration, fashion accessories and clothing. The textiles have strong cultural value and used in ceremonial occasions. Producers are typically poorer female members of local ethnic groups, who maintain traditional knowledge on producti
on techniques. The Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) of hand-woven textiles (Songket, Ulos, Lurik, Abaca, Ikat): Female Entrepreneurship in Indonesia and the Philippines or called The Sustainable Hand Woven Textile (SHWET) project is the EU-funded SWITCH-Asia project that aims to contribute to economic prosperity and poverty reduction in Indonesia and the Philippines through promoting sustainable hand-woven eco textile value chain development. The specific objective is to promote sustainable consumption and production (SCP) of hand-woven eco-textiles in Indonesia and the Philippines by scaling up successful SCP practices throughout the market chain and development of an enabling policy environment. The project is active in 11 provinces in Indonesia (West, South and North Sumatra, East and West Kalimantan, East and West Nusa Tenggara, Central Java, South East Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi Bali); and 9 provinces in the Philippines (Bukidnon, South Cotabato, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Nuava Vizcaya, Zamboanga, Negros Occidental, Aklan, Ifugao). Key stakeholders of the project include hand-woven textile entrepreneurs and their group and cooperatives, urban consumers, financial institutions, local, regional and national government bodies. The SHWET project is a partnership between Hivos as lead implementer, Association for Women in Small Business Assistance (ASPPUK), Indonesian Hand-woven Textile Association (CTI) and Non-Timber Forest Products – Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP). It is a 4 years project started in February 2013.