LA UNION SOFT BROOMS: THE FIRST AND THE ORIGINAL

By: Israel Oller Rudio, PITO-LU

When local and foreign tourists visit Baguio City, they see to it that they get at least a piece of the quality soft brooms being sold in the City of Pines.  Little did they know that most of the Boyboys they bought were actually made not in Baguio City as the handle states but in the Province of La Union, specifically in the Municipalities of Burgos and Bagulin and in some parts of San Fernando City like the mountainous Barangay of Nagyuybuyuban, where the Tiger Grass (Nannorhops Ritchieana), from which the famous Walis Tambos are made of, are abundant. 

According to pioneer traders of the craft, it was a practice to weave the name of Baguio City in the broom’s handle to make an impression that it was made in the popular summer resort to attract buyers and tourists in the said city and even in other places like Metro Manila and Bulacan.  In a bold move, the people of Burgos, La Union led by their energetic Lady Mayor, the honorable Jessie Panta, decided once and for all to stop the old and unfair practice to finally get the credit for producing the best Boyboys.  To further promote their native product, the Municipal Government constructed a showroom which displays the materials needed to produce quality brooms and a variety of the product’s various designs, sizes and colors.  From the traditional soft brooms which are usually used to sweep the floor come the new generations of Boyboys: dusters of different sizes and striking colors.

In an actual demo for the ABS-CBN Baguio program Northern Catch, broom makers from Burgos showed the actual step by step process in making quality brooms.  The dried flowers of the Tiger Grass which were boiled twice were made sure that no pollens remain by extreme shaking.  For brooms with colors, the flowers underwent a third boiling with dye according to the desired color.  The flowers are then bundled by string or GI wire together with the wooden handle.  The flowers are then spread out by weaving the upper portion with the use of plastic strings.  Designs and names at the handle are made possible by weaving together crushed Bolos which were tied with the handle and flat plastic strings.    

In the Munucipality of Bagulin, their finished products are transported to the nearby town of Naguilian where local businessmen buy the brooms by the bulk.  The brooms are then transported to various provinces and cities to be sold at a price according to the satisfaction of the middlemen.  As for other broom makers who have their own trucks, they directly deliver their products to their customers in Manila and Baguio City.

Tiger Grasses are also grown in the Municipalities of San Gabriel and Santol but few of the locals are in the business of broom making. It was brought to the Philippines from India by West Asian traders.