Bahandi Website

In keeping with the promise of this blog (see profile) I would like to invite you to visit the recently launched website of the Bahandi Producers Association of Eastern Visayas. It still has to fine-tune some of its features and make it more user and Internet surfer-friendly but at least it is now more accessible to the world via the web. Here you will find the establishments that produced some of the delicacies and crafts I've been blogging about here in previous posts. I urge those who visit to their site leave their comments so the webmaster can have valuable feedback that could in turn lead to improvements. Why so gaga over local producers? Well, because we here in Leyte and Samar have a lot to offer and its time the world get a taste of it.

OTOP Visayan Islands Fair

Hey, just wanted to invite you all to a fair showcasing the best of the Visayan Islands running this week at the Atrium, SM Cebu, Cebu City starting November 12. Here's the brochure which I wish to share with you...For anyone near, hope to see you there.

Our very own, Leyte and Samar with the San Juanico Bridge as backdrop

Loved the way they played on each region's unique and famous tourist destination interspersed with their local products: the white sands of Boracay in Western Visayas; the San Juanico Bridge in Waray-waray country; and the Chocolate Hills of Bohol in Central Visayas.

For the information of all, OTOP stands for One-Town-One-Product, a flagship project of GMA.

Bahandi Trade Fair 2008

(graphics and layout by Jet Amago)

"Bahandi" means treasure in the Waray-waray dialect and on September 26-30, a fair of Eastern Visayas treasures will be on display at the 2008 Bahandi Trade Fair. This includes the best of food, handicrafts, wooden furniture, bags, accessorie, household items, and eco-tourist spots that the islands of Samar and Leyte has to offer. This is an annual event of the Bahandi Producers Association of Eastern Visayas (BPAEV) with financial and technical assistance from the Department of Trade and Industry, Regional Office VIII, CITEM and OTOP.

I urge those in the area to visit as prices are most reasonable and way below Metro Manila quotations. The hardwood living room sets are bestsellers and a steal if you compare it with high-end shops with quality on a par if not better...And for those who have been following my other blog, http://everythingwaray.blogspot.com/, you can find in this fair the delicacies I've written about such as the pastillas of Mana Lumen; the moron of Abuyog, and the binagol of Dagami. No need to wait for pasalubong from visiting relatives. Catch it while you can, just drop yourself at the Shaw MRT station and take a walk for some good exercise on your way to SM Mega Mall mega trade hall where the fair will be held.