ORIGIN
Aklan, Philippines

BIO
Since 1996, La Herminia Piña has been a steward of piña weaving in Aklan, Philippines (western Visayas) and has kept the tradition in its founding family for generations. Besides making commercial and sustainable piña textiles, their work includes creating abaca and raffia products to promote cultural heritage.

Piña fabric is uniquely derived from the inner layer of pineapple plant leaves. With several fields of red bisaya (pineapples) at their Aklan base, La Herminia creates the beautiful fabric from their harvest.

First removing the leaves, a piece of porcelain is used to scrape and separate into fibers which are then washed and set out to dry in the sun. Once fully dry, the fibers are tied together from end to end to create a large bundle for weaving on hand looms. The result is a translucent cloth—soft, fine, and high in luster. Because the piña fibers are fine and delicate, carefully weaving with them can take 1-2 months.

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