Did you know Antique also has its own pottery industry? After reading Leia’s entry on this a couple of years ago, I decided to add this to my itinerary before leaving for Caticlan.
It’s a short habal-habal ride to Barangay Bandoja, formerly known as Lupaan. You get to see enjoy an amazing view of ricefields, a breath of fresh air and vast mountains around the area.
Here you can find the charming ladies with skillful hands. They have refined the skill to turn lumps of clay to pots, vases, cooking stand and even bricks. Literally the pots are handmade (of course) but to add to this, the maker had to spin the potter’s wheel by hand as well. We were told that pottery and brick making was their main source of income for a long time already. Seeing as the area is quite rich with about half a metric ton of clay reserves.
Our Pottery Experience
Shaping our desired clay pots took about half an hour to finish. We then signed the pots with our names. The next step was airdrying for a month. This is then cooked in their large oven called a kiln.
We were told by the women who taught us that this was their main source of livelihood since they were young girls. They have always done it traditionally with the use of a wheel and a piece of cloth. As you can see we went down and dirty in the hopes of making our own tiny pots.
I really wanted to bring my creation home but unfortunately we were told that it required a month for it to be completely dry and ready for use. So I had to leave my little pot behind. If you wanna know more about the other things we did! You can learn more about it here
Location: Brgy. Bandoja, Tibiao
Rate: 150php per person
Don’t Forget To…
- Prepare yourself to get down and dirty while making your pot.
- Bring insect repellent.
- Keep yourself hydrated.
- The trip on the way is slightly an uphill ride.
