Being a Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Awardee in 2012, Magdalena Gamayo is celebrated as a master Inabel weaver and teacher, who aims to share and pass the endangered craft to the next generation of artisans and appreciators.Gamayo started this effort by training a small group of women composed of relatives and neighbors in their community. In 2022, Gamayo donated an Inabel adorned with “Sinankrus” design to the National Museum of the Philippines. Such a generous donation of a masterpiece proves Gamayo’s effort to promote and preserve the Inabel weaving tradition.

 

Moving forward, in August 2023, the Municipal Government of Pinili inaugurated the Pinili Inabel Center during the master weaver’s 99th birthday, a center built on a portion of Gamayo’s land. In one of the many instances, the almost hundred year old Gamayo proved her influence and contribution in the field of indigenous arts and crafts in the “Panaglaga Ti Lagda” (Weave Transcending Time) fashion show for NCAA in Davao City last in September 2023. In essence, the nonagenarian master weaver continues to promote and preserve the Inabel textile, a symbol of unique craftsmanship and culture, and source of pride of Ilocanos.