Iraya-Mangyan Village, Talipanan: Nito Weaving at the Foot of Malasimbo

At the foot of Mt. Malasimbo in Barangay Talipanan, a short ride from the beaches, is a village of around 100 Iraya-Mangyan — one of Mindoro's indigenous peoples. They are known for nito weaving: baskets, trays and boxes wound from forest vine, tight enough to hold their shape for years.

It is the one place in Puerto Galera where the thing you can buy is made in front of you, by the people whose craft it is.

Who the Mangyan are

“Mangyan” is the collective name for the indigenous peoples of Mindoro — several distinct groups with their own languages, not one people. The Iraya are the group of the island's north, and Talipanan is their community on this side of the peninsula.

They were here long before the galleons that gave the town its name, and the village is a living community rather than a display — which shapes how to visit it.

Nito weaving

Nito is a climbing fern. The stems are stripped, dried and then wound in a tight coil around a core, so the piece grows in a spiral from the base outward. The dark glossy vine against the pale core is what gives the work its banding — no dye involved, just the material.

• What is made — trays, lidded boxes, baskets, coasters, bowls, bags.
• Why it takes time — a single piece is hours of winding; larger lidded work runs to days.
• How to judge one — look for even coil spacing and a lid that seats without forcing.

Buying a piece here is the shortest route between a visitor's money and the household that made the thing.

Visiting

There is a showroom at the village where the work is sold and where you can usually watch weaving in progress. Visitors are welcome, and a few things make the visit a good one for everyone:

• Ask before photographing people. The village is a home, not a set.
• Buy from the showroom rather than haggling hard — the prices are already close to the work involved.
• Bring cash in small notes. Do not count on card payment.
• Go in daylight, and keep to the parts of the village you are invited into.

Getting there

Talipanan is the quiet end of the beach strip beyond White Beach and Aninuan, on the western side. A tricycle from White Beach is the simplest way; from Muelle pier it is a longer ride through town. The village sits inland from the beach, toward the mountain.

The same trip reaches the Talipanan Falls trail and the slopes of Mt. Malasimbo, so it pairs well with a half-day inland rather than a single stop.

Part of a protected landscape

The forest the nito comes from is inside Puerto Galera's UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve, designated in 1977. The biosphere idea is explicitly about people and nature together — communities living from a landscape without stripping it. A craft that harvests vine from standing forest is close to what that programme was written for.

Where it fits

Read how the town got its name in The Port of the Galleons, what the biosphere status means in A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and see the whole picture in our Famous places & landmarks guide.

References & sources

• UNESCO — Puerto Galera, Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB).