From the plain-looking handwoven slippers to embroidered bags and embellished baskets, seagrass craft making in San Fernando, Camarines Sur has grown into a full-blown home-based business, providing additional income to rice farmers in the flood-prone areas. According to the Department of Agriculture-Regional Field OfficeBicol Integrated Agricultural Research Center (BIARC), the majority of the flood-prone rice producing areas were left fallowed, thus additional costs on herbicides and labor are needed to remove various weeds and sedges that emerge after the fallow period. “In the project site, while many people use various weed species as forage for animals, ingenious farmers surprisingly explored promising potential uses of seagrass,” said BIARC manager Luz Marcelino.

Hermoso, R. (2019, May 12). Seagrass craft making flourishes in Camarines Sur. The Philippine Star, p. B4.