The first time I saw this product, I was captivated by its unique style, elegance and beauty. The bamboo bag captures the very heart and essence of a Filipino, made with indigenous materials, hand crafted and created by a true Filipino artist.

Reynaldo Lim, the president of PUPTA (Philippine Unique Products and Traders Association) tries to scout for unique products in the country every year. In 2006, during the Panalad Festival in Bacolod, his attention was caught to this bamboo bag that was created by Marvin Altares, a young artist of Bacolod with a lot of talent, and inspiration that naturally comes from the heart.

Since then, Rhey and Marvin had started working together to develop this product further. Though the bag is unique on its own, changes and developments have been made.

The handle – From having a machine crafted black handle, they changed it by using Kawayan or Yantok. Rey make sure they preserve the kawayan’s natural shape and texture, making every bag a unique artwork on its own.

The body – the bottom of the bag used to be metal so they changed it to pure bamboo. Nails are used before to attach the parts, but they now use abacca fibers. Banig are used for the insides and pockets of the bag, all handmade and natural, they make sure that no synthetic materials will be used.

The color – the first produced bags only had natural and green colors. Now, they have used natural dyes to coat the bamboo with yellowish, black, pink and blue colors. Though new colors have been added, you will still see the natural lines of the bamboo, something that Rey and Marvin wanted to preserve to remind us that the bags are still made of bamboo.

These two will not stop improving and creating new designs. Every bag is unique and one of its kind. Variations in shapes, sizes, styles and colors will be available. Prices vary on the quantity, style and shipping.

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PUPTA

Philippine Unique products and Traders association was established in the year 2003 to develop, promote and market unique Philippine products adopting the concept of “balikatan” (working together for a common goal) for Filipinos going global and to become the Philippine center for unique Filipino products. Also, to promote the interest and well-being of all the members by identifying and addressing their common concerns through:

(a)    holding of constant dialogues and other forms of communication and information dissemination, pooling of resources and expertise and rendering of mutual assistance.
(b)    Education and training of member entrepreneurs to be globally competitive through Teachings and Seminars.
(c)    Assistance in quality and development of manufactured unique Philippine products of members.
(d)    Assistance in the development and global competitiveness of member companies manufacturing unique Philippine products.