Ex-soldier’s skills in sword making turns him into big exporter to the US and create jobs.

A farming village in the northern Philippines is forging a brighter future thanks to the sword-making skills of one man.

Using recycled steel from trucks, hand-made leather and imported hide from a sting ray, Filomeno de Guzman, a former soldier, fashions hunting knives and sword replicas.

His hobby has now made him the biggest exporter of swords from the Philippines to the US, and has created jobs for the people in the village.

Al Jazeera’s Marga Ortigas reports from Pangasinan, northern Philippines.