By Jireh Pearl Casionan
In the quiet town of Luisiana, Laguna, a simple woman gracefully weaves strands of pandan leaves, turning them into bayong or baskets and native bags. Luzviminda R. Esperanza, more fondly called “Lucy” by her friends and loved ones, has long been passionate about weaving.
Long before life demanded more of her, Lucy had been weaving with her bare hands since childhood. She not only turned this into an income-earning activity, but it is also a handed-down craft she first learned by watching her parents weave mats and bags.
But driven by the growing necessity, she braved life in Manila when she was a teenager and worked various jobs there. But when her siblings started having families on their own, Lucy returned home to Luisiana, Laguna in 1983 to take care of her aging parents. Little did she know that her homecoming would also lead her to meet the man who would become her husband. The following year, they married and began raising a family together.
While her husband worked as a tricycle driver, Lucy continued offering makeup and hairstyling services in their town to help provide for their children. Yet in between responsibilities as a mother while also trying to earn, weaving remained stitched into her. Lucy picked up the pandan leaves once again and continued crafting bags by hand. Each woven piece she produces from there also helps support her children’s education and daily needs.
In 2016, after being invited by some of the first clients in their area, Lucy became a client of CARD MRI Rizal Bank, Inc., a microfinance-oriented rural bank. As a client, she began saving and became enrolled in the insurance services under CARD MRI.
When her husband died in 2019, Lucy was left to move in with one of her children in Batangas City and tried to continue offering beauty services in the new place. However, despite being with family, city life and its heat did not suit her.
Lucy eventually returned once again to the quiet rural life in Luisiana. With her two children now grown, one staying in Batangas and the other in Cabuyao, Laguna, she decided to stop taking other jobs and fully return to weaving. Back in the very place where she learned the craft, weaving once again became both her source of livelihood and comfort.
Through the loan services of CARD RBI, she was able to gain additional capital to sustain her weaving business. Aside from the savings and loan services, the insurance services provided through the partner institutions of CARD RBI gave her peace of mind, knowing she has a safety net during difficult times. She also finds comfort knowing that these insurances can spare her family from hardship should anything happen to her.
Today, Lucy carefully buys pandan leaves, molds them, and transforms them into baskets and bags with her hands that have long memorized the process, but still craft it intently. It has now become the main thread that sustains her everyday life. She can finish one basket in around fifteen minutes and create up to ten pieces a day while still tending to household chores. Her neighbors, who also weave, bring their finished products to Lucy’s house, where distributors later collect them for the market.
With the same wisdom reflected in her woven creations, Lucy encourages fellow clients to continue saving and investing in insurance for their future: “Sila ay maghulog (sa savings at insurance) para may aasahan sila balang araw,” she advised.
Lucy’s fulfillment now rests in the well-being of her children and grandchildren, and in doing what she loves while living. She chose a quiet life. No grand displays, just a humble contentment gently woven through experiences she gained throughout the years, just like the strands of pandan leaves that she patiently moves by hand.
