Bayan ng Lumban is located in Laguna and is considered one of Laguna's oldest towns and known as the embroidery capital of the Philippines. The town's name is derived from a local tree called "lumbang". Its neighboring towns including Sta. Cruz, Cavinti and Pagsanjan were once part of Lumban.
In the Philippines, when you buy a Barong Tagalog or Filipiniana with intricate embroideries, guaranteed it is made in Lumban. The people of Lumban are not only passionate about their embroidered products, but also very talented in what they do. Embroidery is done in three ways - by hand, by sewing machine and by a computer embroidery machine. They can embroider almost anything but only fine Jusi and Piña cloth are embroidered by hand which takes not only days but months to complete one meter of fabric.
Lumban people plays a very vital role not only for our business but most importantly to the heritage and culture of the Philippines. We have seen the need to keep this beautiful talent, tradition and the quality products they make, to continue to grow and flourish for our country and the future generations. With the continuous advancement of technology and innovations, increasing use of online marketing and social media influence and the emerging fast fashion trends globally, our local culture and traditions are at risk of fading away and being forgotten. The good news is - WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. In our own little way, let us support them by promoting our own local products.
TERNO by TCG is a brand about not just the clothing but it is a representation of the heritage, tradition and culture of the Philippines. "It is a brand with a purpose".
As we embark on our journey to bring back the love for our own Filipino clothing, your support is exponential to our success and the success of the people of Lumban. For every purchase of a TERNO, a portion of this will be used to support their livelihood. At the end of 2023, our goal is to purchase newer and more advanced sewing machines for embroidery and tailoring for our local partners. We don't know how much we could achieve right now, but one thing is for sure - TOGETHER, amazing things can happen.
We have visited our local artisans last month to learn more about the process of making TERNO and Barong Tagalog and we can't wait to share with you more of the work we are doing to educate more people on how beautiful the process each TERNO goes through.
*Below photos are actual photos taken by TERNO by TCG in February 2023 and with the permission of our partner artisans in Lumban, Laguna.
** Photo credit for top photo to The Provincial Lady Blog / A Visit to Grandma's blog.