JOHN FRANCIA

 

John Francia is the President of Woven. He is also the Executive Director of the Social Economy and Action Research Foundation (SEARCH), which specializes in planning, implementing, and documenting community-based enterprise initiatives.

 

When super-typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines in 2013, he was tasked to visit Samar and create an area development plan for the devastated towns - a project spearheaded by ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya. It was there that he met the famous banig weavers of Basey. Shortly after, he became a Jesuit volunteer and spent a year in the community, helping the weavers earn a living from their craft. When he came back to Manila, he co-founded Woven with Trish Lim to continue the work he had started.