One more reason why I love going to the countryside is I get to see how ingenious Filipinos are. This is certainly evident in the handicrafts, the woodwork, the textile designs and other products that I'm sure is present in almost every province.

Whether it's the weavers of Sagada or the craftsmen of Paete or the burnay makers of Vigan or the other artists from the provinces I have been fortunate enough to visit thanks to volunteer work, I am always left in amazement seeing how gifted and talented Pinoys are.

Above are the latest addition to the list of handcrafted products that I was impressed with, and that makes me very proud to be Filipino.

The first three are greeting cards, while the fourth one is (obviously) a bookmark. Guess what these are made out of. Surprise, surprise, the women of Kiloloron, a village in Real, Quezon make these paper products by hand using coconut fibre, rice husks and cogon grass.

I found out about these wonder women when I visited the immersion volunteers in Real, Quezon a couple of weeks ago. Since I visited on a weekend, the shop where these handmade products are made was closed. Huhuhu!

But according to what I've read, this simple livelihood project helps support 47 women and their families. In case you don't remember, Real, Quezon was one area that was buried by landslides in November 2004. Before the Guinsaugon tragedy, there was the Real tragedy which was also one of the worst tragedies.

So you see, these products aren't just physical proof of the Pinoy's talent, these products also tell of the resilience of the Pinoy during times of adversity.

I couldn't help but be impressed and inspired.