Practically, since she was born, Salinta Monon had watched her mother’s nimble hands glide over the loom, weaving traditional Bagobo textiles. At 12 she presented herself to her mother, to be taught how to weave herself. Her ardent desire to excel in the art of her ancestors enabled her to learn quickly. She developed a keen eye for the traditional designs, and now, at the age of 65, she can identify the design as well as the author of a woven piece just by a glance.

All her life she has woven continuously, through her marriage and six pregnancies, and even after her husband’s death 20 years ago. She and her sister are the only remaining Bagobo weavers in her community.

Her husband paid her parents a higher bride price because of her weaving skills. However, he left all the abaca gathering and stripping to her. Instead, he concentrated on making their small farm holding productive. Life was such that she was obliged to help out in the farm, often putting her own work aside to make sure the planting got done and the harvest were brought in. When her husband died, she was left alone with a farm and six children, but she continued with her weaving, as a source of income as well as pride.

Salinta has built a solid reputation for the quality of her work and the intricacies of her designs. There is a continuing demand for her fabrics. She has reached the stage where she is able to set her own price, but she admits to a nagging sense of being underpaid nevertheless, considering the time she puts into her work. It takes her three to four months to finish a fabric 3.5 m x 42 cm in length, or one abaca tube skirt per month.