UKAY-UKAY AND THE PASIG SUMMER BAZAAR,
TRAMO, BARANGAY STA. LUCIA,
PASIG CITY, METRO MANILA
In May 2024, the UKAI Initiative staged a pop-up ukay-ukay and summer bazaar in Tramo, Pasig City, linking local vendors, rag makers, food sellers, and residents with artists and researchers from the Philippines and the U.S. Preparing a single bale for market can take days—picking up, hauling, washing, sorting, and re-sorting clothes. This work often relies on entire families and neighbors pitching in, underscoring the collective labor sustaining secondhand economies.
Christina and Kris Viel are Pasig-based ukay-ukay entrepreneurs who became co-researchers of the project.Ukay-ukay shopping is a widespread cultural phenomenon in the Philippines, attracting a diverse range of people due to affordability and the thrill of finding unique items.
Kris Viel conducting oral history interview
Posters were installed at the back of motorcycle cabs and on business store fronts to promote the ukay-ukay event.
Bales of imported secondhand clothes were sourced from a warehouse in Quezon City.Clothes inside the bales are feared to potentially carry diseases, so they must be laundered before they are made available for resale.
Photos and Videos by: Christina Cañete and Kris Viel Cañete