washing in the streets

Sahod muna ng tubig..

...para makapag-laba ng maayos (Tondo, Manila)

Majayjay lass 

Labandera na, tindera pa

Kids gather around to help their mom (sa kwentuhan?)

Luisiana labanderas amidst the green grass and bamboo-pipe-carrying water

Ayaw nila umitim? The ladies on the road leading to Pagsanjan share a huge umbrella as they wash their clothes and troubles away.

Using her palo-palo, the lady in red drives the dirt away, while her friend in a native hat hangs her clothes to dry in a bamboo sampayan

Cavinti's old highway beside a creek and waterfall is the site of women and men washing clothes together

busy, busy, busy in Albay  --
 while three women wash clothes, another  gathers water,
 while another whiles her time away by texting

In the middle of  a city street, in front of a house and sari-sari store, by the wayside,  on the side of the mountain, creek or river, we chanced upon them. 

From different parts of Laguna (Cavinti, Majayjay, Luisiana), Bicol and Tondo, Manila we saw women feverishly working hard -- banlaw, kusot, sabon, banlaw, kula, sampay -- to get their labada sparkling white and clean.

A washing machine and dryer may get the work done faster but nothing beats the fulfillment you get out of working as a team and learning the latest news about family and friends, chismis about your favorite stars and politicians from a labada partner.