MASTER lantern maker Roland Quiambao said innovation is needed to meet the challenges of the local economy and to transform the local San Fernando lantern as more than just a Christmas decoration.
An officer of the City of San Fernando (Pampanga) Lantern Makers Association (CSFPLMA), Quiambao said the Metro Manila market alone could not be saturated by all lantern makers and companies in Pampanga combined.
"There is a very big market, not just during the Christmas Season but all throughout the year. There is only the need to expand the lantern lines and transform them to other decorative art for events like Valentine's and even Halloween," Quiambao added.
Quiambao said that the lantern industry is also in need of innovators in order to upgrade the quality of the lanterns to meet international standards. This, he said, would enable the San Fernando lantern to go into international production which are within the strict safety standards of big countries abroad.
"It is also the dream of the lantern community that we be given a showcase center for our lantern products all year-round," Quiambao said, adding that the lantern industry should be included in the tourism promotion of the province all throughout the year and not just during Christmas.
Quiambao is also advocating and urging lantern makers to teach the craft to other sectors in the community. For Quiambao, community empowerment is their way of uplifting culture, as well as transferring the technology that could never be learned in formal schooling.
"This is also a way of giving back to our community the opportunity to learn, and possibly to even make it big with this kind of craft," Quiambao said.
