Saffy Handicrafts

Saffy stands for Social Action for Filipino Youth. Saffy Handicrafts is the business export arm of SAFRUDI, the Social Action Foundation for Rural and Urban Development, a social services organization. (SAFRUDI markets crafts domestically through its ManoMano fair trade store.) SAFRUDI markets products for many small artisan workshops on the Visaya Islands and on Luzon producing stuffed toys, capiz items, and jewelry, and runs its own production unit specializing in capiz shell items. Artisans benefit from educational seminars, vocational training, financial and medical assistance. An in–house Product Designer assists artisan groups in the development of new product lines.

Saffy was founded in 1966 by Sr. Juliaan Mullie, a Belgian nun, to create alternative sources of livelihood for impoverished women and youth in marginalized areas of Manila. It expanded to serve communities in need by launching social development programs. The organization legally incorporated in 1970 as SAFRUDI, retaining Saffy as its trade name for export items. SAFRUDI is a member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), and is affiliated with Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc., Asia Fair Trade Forum and Philippine Fair Trade Forum.

Capiz
Capiz is both a geographical location and the name of a shell that is used largely in interior decorating and for decorative gifts and accessories. Geographically speaking, Capiz is a province of the Philippines facing the Sibuyan Sea to the north. Capiz shell, which is used for decorative purposes, is the outer shell of the marine mollusk, Placuna placenta , found in the shallow coastal waters of the Philippines.

Capiz shell is a flat, semi-transparent shell with a pearlescent appearance. Capiz is often used to create lampshades or other luminescent objects, such as candle holders, because of its striking appearance when light shines through, and is also frequently used as an accent to many household and fashion accessories.

Conservation
A decline in Capiz shell production in the Philippines has been observed since the 1970s. Placuna was identified as the second priority mollusc species for research during the Second Conference on Aquaculture Development in Southeast Asia (ADSEA) held in the Philippines in 1994.

Conservation measures began in the early 1990s, involving transplantation of wild-caught juveniles and broodstock from areas where stocks are abundant to depleted areas with suitable ground. However local cooperation was initially limited and gatherers collected the juveniles, thus reducing the number left to breed successive generations. There were also illegal trawls and dredges in the project area. The way forward for the human use of this species is through sustainable harvesting. To ensure this local education programmes are in place and the local communitiesare now involved. Traders of Capiz shell are also becoming more aware of how limited the resource is, and are demanding sustainable harvesting is being practiced more and more, ensuring that future generations will be able to continue the craft.

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