Anya Lim considers herself a “pilgrim on earth.” Growing up, she traveled around quite a lot, but unlike others who hated the impermanence, Anya reveled in it. Even now, the social entrepreneur says it’s not uncommon for her to find herself traversing off the beaten track. “I take delight in the stories of real people, experiencing new places, witnessing traditions and practices, trying out food, etc- ultimately culture.”
In that sense, we suppose it’s not at all surprising that Anya founded ANTHILL (Alternative Nest and Trading/Training Hub for Indigenous/Ingenious Little Livelihood seekers), “a social and cultural enterprise showcasing Filipino hand-loomed fabrics and its contemporary application to everyday essentials.”
Get to know the Princess of the ANTHILL herself below:
Female Network (FN): How did Anthill come about? What’s the ANTHILL story?
Anya Lim (AL): ANTHILL was a mergence of dreams and ideas between my mom (The Queen Ant) and I. My mom was the first batch of Jesuit Volunteers. Growing up, she would tell me stories about her mission work with an Aeta Community and her T'boli Princess classmate. She brought us to visit an Ifugao Village where we saw a couple of elderly women weaving. At a very young age, I was drawn to the indigenous culture and indigenous tribes and felt they were the real Filipinos. After college, I also did mission work with an indigenous village in Alang Gluban Mountain, Taiwan and my fascination just grew.
I worked in an international non-profit for children. That's when I got immersed and exposed at the grassroots level. There I realised that a lot of program is still highly dependent on foreign aid. There's a big wave of urban migration in search for greener pastures. Most communities do not see the value of their skills and their current resources. I realised it's not enough that the children are educated. When they land a good job, they still eventually have to take responsibility of the family. Most women in communities feel helpless and are highly dependent on their husbands. When we also came back to the Ifugao Village, most of the elders were no longer weaving and the younger women have turned to becoming tour guides. Everywhere I go, the lack of cultural (traditional know how, skills, etc) transmission seem to be the social problem that kept disturbing me.
As my family have been in the fabric business, I chose the route closest to what was already familiar. We had a network of designers and I thought growing up seeing my mom sell fabrics, it might come easy to me, too. We envisioned ANTHILL to be a shared space among artists, artisans, designers, students, fabric enthusiasts, just about anyone who love culture and the arts. We set up a convergent evolution model where all stakeholder relate and contribute to the progress of the ANTHILL/ nest. It organically grew and we were providentially led to communities. Now, ANTHILL works to deepen its engagement on three partner communities: Abra Weaving Community, The Daraghuyan- Bukindon Tribe, and The Handcrafters of Mary Enterprise.
FN: Have you always been interested in running your own business? If not, what made you decide to be an entrepreneur?
AL: (laughs) To be honest, I resisted it for the longest time even until ANTHILL was already set up. After a stint in accounting when I was in the corporate sector, I seem to have been allergic to anything that concerned numbers. Business was always a lemon to me. It was really just a change of mindset and turning it into lemonade that made me embrace it and own it. I started looking at the output and the bigger picture rather than anticipating whatever challenges I might face as a young entrepreneur. I realised I am in the business of establishing businesses. If I do not learn the tricks of the trade, if I do not hone my skills as an entrepreneur, if I do not claim it with confidence and be a good example to our community enterprises, then we will not be able to achieve our vision. I had to believe in myself and empower myself first before I could create enabling environments for our communities to discover their fullest potential as well.
FN: Can you share with us the creative process behind each ANTHILL product?
AL: To be honest, we haven't actually gotten into the rhythm yet as we are a fairly new team. Starting last year, we decide on a fabric application we want to employ. Last holiday it was Tapestry. We're carrying it over this summer but we're also introducing a bit of origami in textiles. We will be coming up with something new again for the coming Holiday 2014. From the umbrella technique, we brainstorm on applications, colour and pattern combinations and the silhouette designs.
FN: Who are your heroes?
AL: Gandhi had such high regard for the craftsmanship of women. He paved the way for women to embrace their talent, to do more than just household chores and to nourish cottage industries. Gandhi's great love for his “charka” / spinning wheel was revolutionary. He said “the exit of Charka drained the creative talent and what little wealth spinning brought them. The Charka restores the villages to their rightful place.” I dream the same for our weaving communities, especially for the younger generation of weavers, that they may be able to realise and value the richness of their skill and tradition so that they may no longer migrate to urban areas or feel that they do not have enough. 
FN: Can you share with us three lessons/tips that you learned while running Anthill?
AL: Be genuine in everything you do and in getting to know your stakeholders- sincerity and authenticity lingers and is felt by the many stakeholders you relate to (team, staff, customers, suppliers, business partners, community partners). It transcends any business transaction. There is so much more value and return on having good relationships with people. That's what they will remember you by.
Be prepared to wear multiple hats and be good at them. It is imperative to not just have a good overview of the business but to actually immerse oneself in every function. Learn how things are done, have the “I can” attitude 100% of the time, do it and be self sufficient. This is especially key in start ups. Being the employee and the employer helps you make better decisions and strikes the balance.Share your story with pride. Be a testament. I always tell our mothers to honor their voices and sometimes I forget that and sell myself short. There is power in declaration and story telling that it somehow magnifies and attracts more opportunities. One should really own ones story. Everything about what you do weaves your story.
(Photos courtesy of Anya Lim)
