How Salinta Monon became a GAMABA artist?

Salinta Monon was the last Bagobo weaver. 

She never thought of giving up her craft even with the dwindling number of Bagobo women interested in weaving, as only a few women have the inclination, patience or perseverance to last through the intensive training and discipline to become a full-fledged weaver.

Salinta Monon was imposing her artistic features through weaving. 

One of Monon’s favorites was the most difficult binuwaya (crocodile). She was   awarded for fully demonstrating the creative and expressive aspects of the Bagobo Abaca ikat (to tie or bond) weaving called inabal (traditional textile of Bagobo) at a time when such art was threatened with extinction.

Salinta has a strong reputation for the high quality of her work and the complexity of her designs.

There is a continuing demand for her fabrics. She has reached the stage where she is able to set her own price, but she admits to a nagging sense of being underpaid nevertheless, considering the time she puts into her work. It takes her three to four months to finish a fabric 3.5 m x 42 cm in length, or one abaca tube skirt per month.

Salinta uses her talent to provide for the needs of her children.

The couple had five children: a daughter named Roda and four sons named Sayko, Elias, Marciano, and Danilo, who are now adults. She took care of the farm, looked after her kids, and kept weaving as a way to make extra money after her husband died in the early 1970s. 

Salinta shows her dedication to the art of weaving. 

She introduced herself to her mother at the age of 12 to learn how to weave. She has weaved continually throughout her life, even through her marriage and six pregnancies, as well as after her husband's death 20 years ago. In her village, she and her sister are the last surviving Bagobo weavers.