Entrepreneurs Ken and Jessica, business partners who ventured their business into these hand crafted bags by tapping local communities to help them produce the Namana Crafts. They have various communities in the Philippines, like for example the T’nalak Tribe of Mindanao, through the Department of Trade and Industry.
Both of them personally looks into everything starting from the design, and into selecting and monitoring the production. Each tribe is unique, they have different skillsets. Each community has a leader that sets the work and timeline for every project Namana crafts has.
Operated by GT Artesania, Namana Craftis a social enterprise based in Quezon City that continuously searches for and collaborates with differently-skilled artisans living in underprivileged communities across the Philippines.
Back in 2011, one of the founders had an immersion in Pasay, Manila where he met a lady named Marlene. She has been making unique crafts by hand and only sell it at low-price. Banking on luck for walk in customers and her mini sari-sari store, despite of having meager profit, she and her family only earns at around P132/ day. Due to this firsthand and treasured experience, the group wanted to help catapult them from poverty while avoiding the dependency mind set. The group firmly believe that it is indisputably significant to have a step by step development for the artisans to improve their lifestyle, by making innovative crafts and be linked to a wide range of opportunities. Discovering social innovation, the group started to sell Ate Marlene’s crafts to its network and gradually expanded by also helping other artisans unleash their skills within the community.
Overtime, Namana Crafts was formalized in 2015 to officially provide these artisans with market access, proper payment scheme, product designs, and additional skills in order to enrich more of their capabilities. Moreover, while these Filipino artisans are born to create big dreams, we, as a social enterprise aim to build bridges and revitalize ideas within our clients and our partnered communities.
Over a nick of time, Namana Crafts has established their identity and has gained trust from their partners. Their designs are unique, conventional, functional and innovative.
Get to see all their crafts at the upcoming Corporate Giveaways Buyers Show happening at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City from June 14 to 16, 2023.
