A clan of palm frond makers from Laguna chose Antipolo City as their favorite place to sell their handcrafted coconut leaves.

For more than 40 years now, making and selling palm fronds or “palaspas” in Antipolo City has been a seasonal source of livelihood for several families from Laguna Province when Palm Sunday comes every year.

For 58-year old Aurea Jamilano, making palm fronds and selling them in the vicinity of Antipolo Cathedral has been a way of life for her family and relatives during Palm Sunday.

Jamilano told Manila Bulletin that some of her sons and daughters, their respective spouses and their children come together to Antipolo City to make palm fronds, which are made of young coconut leaves.

Leaving Famy, Laguna on Wednesday before Palm Sunday, Jamilano and her relatives would settle to their favorite spot at the back of the cathedral’s compound, which serves as their working area and sleeping area at the same time.

Jamilano said she has been making and selling palaspas for several decades now, and their group’s favorite place for their handcrafted products has been Antipolo City.

(Nel Andrade / MANILA BULLETIN)

“Naging panata na rin namin ang paggawa at pagtinda ng palaspas sa Antipolo dahil sa debosyon namin sa Birhen ng Antipolo. Palagi kong hiling ang magandang kalusugan para sa akin at sa aking pamilya (It has become our vow to make and sell palm fronds in Antipolo because of our devotion to the Virgin of Antipolo. I always wish for good health for me and my family)," she said.

Jamilano’s daughter Berlyn Almaceda said she was still a small girl when her mother brought her to Antipolo to make palm fronds. Now, she has her own family who also helps her in their annual Palm Sunday tradition in Antipolo City.

Almaceda said the tradition of palm frond making among her relatives in Famy, Laguna, has been passed on from generations to generations.

She said even though earning a livelihood out of making fronds from coconut leaves is only seasonal, their joy of being together to spend bonding moments with their family is priceless.

An intricately handcrafted palm frond sells at P15 to 35 each depending on the design.