Camp Sikulo stitches sustainability into Cebu’s creative scene

CEBU CITY, Philippines — A burn mark on a favorite pair of pants could have meant the end of it, but for Cebu-based artist Tricia Largo, it became the beginning of Camp Sikulo, a patchwork initiative now teaching others to mend, reuse, and rethink what they owned.

A tear, a burn, and the start of something.

The damage was small, but it was enough to ruin a favorite pair of pants.

A burn mark from a hair straightener, accidental, quick, and the kind that usually sends clothing straight to the discard pile.

Instead, Tricia Largo reached for scraps.

She cut around the damage, stitched pieces of fabric over it, and turned the flaw into something visible, something intentional.

What began as a fix became an idea.

“I realized this could be something,” she said.

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Not just a way to repair clothes, but a way to rethink them entirely.

Years later, that moment has grown into Camp Sikulo, a Cebu-based creative initiative she runs with her sister Tiffany Largo, one that now teaches others how to extend the life of what they own, one stitch at a time.

More than a market, a space for making

At Atua Midtown, the sisters brought that philosophy to Arte Merkado’s second anniversary celebration, “Arte Feast Fiesta,” where rows of booths displayed handmade pieces, prints, and crafts by Cebuano artists.

But beyond the marketplace, there were tables filled not with finished products, but with materials in transition: fabric scraps, thread, needles, and hands learning how to use them.

Here, art was not just something to buy or observe. It was something to participate in.

The patchwork workshop led by Camp Sikulo became one of the spaces where that shift was most visible where strangers sat side by side, turning worn textiles into something personal.

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Keeping things in the cycle

In a creative scene often centered on output, the event made room for process.

At the core of Camp Sikulo is a simple but deliberate principle: keep things in use for as long as possible.

The name itself reflects this “camp” as a gathering space, and “sikulo,” from the Filipino word for cycle, pointing to the idea of extending the life of materials through mending, upcycling, and reuse.

For Tricia, sustainability is not about perfection, but persistence.

“You can never be perfect with eco efforts,” she said.

“But even small efforts matter.”

It is a mindset grounded in daily choices choosing to repair instead of discard, to reuse instead of replace.

“It’s about building a relationship with the things you own,” she added.

“Taking the time to keep using them until the end of their lifespan.”

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An entry point anyone can access

Unlike other sustainability practices that can feel distant or resource-heavy, patchwork begins with what is already available. Fabric often overlooked or thrown away becomes the primary material.

In Cebu, where thrift culture is widespread, access is rarely the barrier.

“It’s something you can pull from anywhere,” Tricia said.

“You don’t need expensive equipment to start,” she said.

That accessibility is central to Camp Sikulo’s approach. Workshops are designed not just for artists, but for anyone willing to try. Still, the process is not without difficulty.

Working with donated and repurposed materials means dealing with unpredictability fabrics that stretch too much, fray too easily, or resist certain techniques.

“There’s a lot of trial and error,” she said.

“We experiment and figure out how to work with them,” she further said.

In that uncertainty, participants are asked to adapt, to improvise, and to accept imperfection as part of the process.

Finding focus in the unfamiliar

At a corner, 20-year-old Nicanor Rumbines Jr. sat surrounded by fabric pieces, unsure where to begin. As a crochet artist, he was familiar with working with his hands but patchwork presented a different kind of challenge.

“I didn’t know where to start,” he said. “If it was the cloth, the thread, or the design.”

But as the session progressed, hesitation gave way to concentration.

“I got so into it,” he said.

“Murag wala nako kabantay sa (It seems like I lost track of time) time. I was just locked in,” he said.

For him, the experience extended beyond the workshop itself.

“I realized I can use old clothes instead of throwing them away,” he said.

What once seemed like waste became material something with potential.

Creating with intention and with play

Despite the environmental message behind their work, the Largo sisters are careful not to frame it as rigid or overwhelming.

“Life is not that serious,” Tricia said. “We want people to create with a sense of play.”

That philosophy shapes the atmosphere of their workshops: open, exploratory, and forgiving of mistakes.

Participants are encouraged to experiment, to undo and redo, to treat the process as something fluid rather than fixed. For Camp Sikulo, creativity and sustainability are not separate pursuits, but practices that can exist in the same space grounded in both intention and enjoyment.

A community still being stitched together

As Arte Merkado marked its second year, the gathering reflected a broader shift within Cebu’s creative community, one that values accessibility, shared experiences, and collaboration. Across the venue, art was not confined to display.

It moved through conversations, through hands-on sessions, through people learning from one another.

In spaces like the patchwork workshop, that shift became tangible. Fabric once considered worn out was pieced together again, slowly taking on new form. Not flawless, not uniform but purposeful.

For the Largo sisters, the goal is not just to teach a craft, but to shift how people see what they already have and what they can still do with it.

For those starting out, Tricia keeps it simple.

“Have fun. It’s really that,” she said. “When you have fun, you make the best out of everything.”

And in those small, careful stitches, a larger pattern begins to emerge, one where creativity, community, and sustainability are not separate threads, but part of the same fabric, still in the process of being made.

TAGS: Camp Sikulo, Largo sisters