01 April 2015 - Four Filipinos participated in the 2015 World Wood Day (WWD) which was held in Odunpazari, Eskişehir, Turkey from March 06 to 25. They are Mr. Rudel San Gaspar and Mr. Desiderio Marabella from Pakil, Laguna; Dr. Consuelo dL. Habito from University of the Philippines, Los Baños (UPLB); and Mr. Danilo Cads from Paete, Laguna. Representatives from the Philippine Embassy in Ankara joined them at the event to give their support and to discuss a future collaboration to promote Philippine woodcrafts in Turkey.
Mr. Gaspar, owner of The Whittler Arts and Crafts in Pakil, took one of his company’s woodcarvers, Mr. Marabella, with him to give a demonstration of whittling or the art of wood shaving by hand to the 2015 WWD crowd. Mr. Marabella’s work stood out among the predominantly machine-assisted woodcarving presentations at the event.
Dr. Habito, an Associate Professor at UPLB, presented her paper, "Bridging the Geographic Divide for Cross-Learning: The experience among Woodcarvers in the Philippines," at the symposium. The paper focused on the woodcarving communities in Luzon and the challenges they faced in pursuit of their craft.
Mr. Cads, an award-winning woodcarver from Paete, was one of 24 woodcarvers from different nationalities that collaborated on the WWD wooden arc. Mr. Cads is highly regarded by his Filipino peers for his expertise in carving human faces in wood. The WWD wooden arc is now a permanent fixture of the town of Odunpazari, Eskişehir, Turkey.
World Wood Day is an annual cultural event celebrating wood as an eco-friendly and renewable bio-material. It also raises awareness of the importance of wood in building a sustainable world through biodiversity and forest conservation. Under the theme “Wood & Humanity,” this year's WWD aimed to rediscover and recognize the contribution and beauty of wood and rethink its significance in contemporary society. The event included a symposium, wood carving demonstrations, a furniture-making competition, an exhibition, and tree planting, among others. END