Dj Saso

Unfolding Balikbayan Narratives

For many in the diaspora, maintaining ties to their homeland is preserved through souvenirs and homemaking practices. The bonds Filipino breadwinners living overseas maintain with family back home is made tangible by sending balikbayan or homecoming boxes. This thesis examined the concept of diasporic intimacy in Filipino culture. I shape my understanding of this cultural tradition by investigating how an engagement with the balikbayan box might manifest as diasporic intimacy and weave narratives of home through banig or handwoven mat design principles. The research involved traditional banig weaving fieldwork in Basey Samar, Philippines, alongside personal reflections on the balikbayan box tradition.

This research grounds these cultural contexts through my relationship with my grandmother. A banig souvenir commemorating our time together during my research in Basey was a vehicle for design exploration. This practice aimed to entwine these Filipino traditions and facilitate emotional and cultural connections between me and her.

I utilised digital fabrication methods weave these two traditions together. Intimacy revealed itself through the iterative process of making a keepsake box gift for my grandmother. Making, packing, and sending a balikbayan box and its contents sought to activate a space for intimate experiences under diasporic conditions.