26 – Smoke on the Water

The PNVSCA is the organisation that oversees all volunteers in the Philippines. Each year they organise a gathering of volunteers as an opportunity to network and share experiences. The Volunteer sharing session for the Visayas was held in Cebu last week. Due to the Global Financial Crisis, the AYAD budget wouldn’t stretch to fly us all there so we were asked to get there by bus and ferry. We were actually quite excited by the prospect of a road trip and seeing a bit more of the landscape …. but we didn’t expect we would end up seeing so much!

We got a bus 3 hours over the mountains to San Carlos where the bus drives onto the ferry for the trip across the water to the island of Cebu. We were all aboard the ferry and had made our way to the upper deck when all of a sudden a crewman came running across the deck shouting something in Cebuano (the language is different on the other side of the island). Then he saw us and repeated it in English: “Fire!” … and then almost as an afterthought “But don’t panic!”. We were just thankful that the ferry had not yet left the port and everyone swiftly evacuated the burning ferry. The irony was … it was a liferaft that had been positioned close to the exhaust that had caught alight. We looked on from the wharf as the fire brigade extinguished the flames and cleaned up. The crew thought it would still be fine to make the trip but the coast guard wouldn’t give the clearance. There were no more ferrys that day.

The three of us looked at one another wondering what we were going to do. Then a friendly middle aged tyre salesman, who had translated for us what was going on, said we could go with him. He was planning on driving to the next port (4 hours south), getting a “Roro” (a car ferry) and then driving a further 4 hours to Cebu city. We quickly assessed the situation: 3 of us one of him and we’d just learned that our new flatmate Rachael is quite adept at castrating bulls from her days as a Jillaroo on a cattle station in the Northern Territory! We’d be fine! By this time however, the sun was already setting. We wouldn’t get to Cebu until 1am. So on second thoughts our new friend decided we’d be better off staying overnight in San Carlos and getting the first ferry the following morning. We thought this was a good idea. Until … we went to get the ferry the following morning and the ferry was still not cleared to do the trip. So it was back to plan A. We were much more comfortable getting a lift with “Boy” after getting to know him a bit over dinner and a few beers the night before. He was on his way home to Cebu after a business trip around the islands of Negros and Panay.

Yet again we experienced the incredible hospitality of the Filipino. When we said we wanted to offer him something for helping us he said “when you’re back in your country, one day you might come across a Filipino who needs your help”.

But luck was just not on our side. Part way into the journey we got stuck behind a cane truck that had broken down in the middle of a 1 lane bridge! Long story short, we eventually reached Cebu just as the volunteer sharing session was coming to a close!

At least we made it in time for the social part of the program which was, of course, an evening of Karaoke! The “Tim Tam Trio” from Bacolod (The Downunder Duo has morphed into the Tim Tam Trio with the addition of new flatmate Rachael!) made their debut with a rendition of “Smoke on the Water”.

We were quite amused when we later discovered this month is National Fire Prevention month! And a further irony is that when we received our travel allowance, it would have been enough to fly us there and back after all! But we had an adventure and a story to tell!

The majority of volunteers in the Philippines are U.S. Peace Corp which is similar in some ways to the AYAD program. They are usually here for longer and have an intensive language training at the beginning, but the down side is they don’t have much choice in the type of work they do. There are a fair number of Korean and Japanese volunteers, the odd European and a handful of internal Filipino volunteers. It was nice to discover that there are actually 3 U.S. Peace Corp volunteers based in Bacolod that we didn’t know about.

So basically, we found ourselves at the beginning of the weekend, no need to be back in Bacolod until Sunday night and on an island we hadn’t explored yet … we headed for the beach at Malapascua. Funnily enough, we never seem to tire of palm fringed white sand beaches, clear blue water full of fish and delicious fresh mango shakes! The highlight this time was snorkelling over a wrecked Japanese warship and seeing a 2m long black and white stripped sea snake.

25 – Rice Terraces and Whale Sharks

The latest batch of AYAD’s arrived the first week of March and, as in-country AYADs, we went to Manila to participate in their orientation week. Aruna and I decided to take the opportunity and go up a week early to explore the mountainous area north of Manila. Then before heading back to Bacolod after the orientation, we took a weekend side trip to Donsol to go snorkelling with the Whale Sharks. I would say this was my 2nd best trip in the Philippines after Palawan.

It was the most diverse group of people I think I’ve ever travelled with, which made for some very interesting conversations during the course of the trip.

Aruna – my fellow AYAD and trusty flatmate who has become a close friend. Aruna invited her friend from Germany … Quyen – a just married Vietnamese/German who was 3 when they fled the Vietnam war seeking asylum in Germany. Quyen brought her friend …
Stephan –from Berlin (east side) who was aged 12 when the wall came down, now IT consultant in Munich.
Me – ... what can I say, i felt pretty boring compared to my travel buddies! I invited my friend from Manila….
Imelda – the life of the party, marketing guru and very generous person who was 6 when Marcos declared Martial law. Imelda brought 2 friends …
Cookie – the hilariously funny, very camp, fashion designer from Manila.
Shirley – the very sophisticated fashion designer from Manila.
Patrick – another AYAD who heard about the trip and tagged along for part of it. He’s the long haired walking encyclopaedia and heavy metal fan from Surry Hills.

So we had a Hindu, a budhist, an athiest, a protestant, a catholic ... and we also picked up Jeff along the way - a Mormon from Utah and well travelled motivational speaker who was very proud of his Obama belt he’d picked up in China for a US$1! As Imelda liked to joke - we were the United Nations!

Our first stop, after an overnight bus from Manila, was the city of Baguio. Here we met up with other AYADs who showed us around their ‘home town’ and introduced us to their favourite eatery’s. The café by the ruins was so good we went back twice in the same day!

Baguio is known for its beautiful woven fabrics. We visited a couple of weaving cooperatives and some purchases were made.

From Baguio, it was an incredibly scenic bus trip through the steep mountain passes – mostly dirt roads barely 1 lane wide with a steep cliff rising on one side and a steep drop off on the other. Some 2000 years ago many of the slopes had been terraced by the local tribes to facilitate the agriculture of crops, predominantly rice. It reminded me of cutting out cardboard contours at Uni for architectural scale models … but this was at 1:1 and had all been achieved without any mechanical assistance!

The attraction of Sagada (apart from the yoghurt house!) is it’s caves. I had my first experience of spelunking and loved it. This involved descending into the cave, squeezing through small holes, sliding down slippery rocks, wading through freezing cold chest high water, scaling limestone walls with the aid of a rope and of course, marvelling at the beautiful limestone formations. After 3 hours, we emerged again into the daylight at a completely different location to where we went in. It was quite challenging on the upper body, but so much fun! We definitely needed a massage after that!

Also famous in Sagada is the hanging coffins. In the past (and still practiced although not much anymore) is the practice of hanging the dead in their coffins at the entrance to caves rather than burying them.

Banaue was our next stop – the heart of the rice terrace area, which features on the 1000 peso note. On our way we stoped in Bontoc to see the excellent ethnographic museum to get a better understanding of the many tribes of the mountain area. Due to its geography, this part of the Philippines was relatively inaccessible by the Spanish and American colonisers, so the tribal culture and languages have remained relatively intact.

From Banaue we hiked to Batad – a village that only got electricity last year and is nestled in the most magnificent stone wall rice terraces. It was planting season, so the terraces looked lush and green. With our guide leading the way, we hiked through the rice terraces, visiting villages along the way and taking a swim in Tappia waterfall.

At this point the group split – some stayed for more hiking, others had to go back to work in Manila, meanwhile Imelda and I had arranged to go further north as I was very keen to see the architecture of Vigan – the only Spanish colonial town that remains relatively intact.

I was yet again overwhelmed by the Filipino hospitality. We stayed with friends of Imelda’s who gave us a car and a driver and kept us incredibly well fed! While I enjoyed Vigan, it wasn’t as extensive or as well preserved as I was expecting. It was essentially only one main cobblestone street and the buildings along it converted into kitsch souvenir shops. We took and Calesa (horse and carriage) ride around the town and also visited the Padre Burgos museum, dedicated to one of 3 Filipino priests who where falsely convicted and publicly garrotted by the Spanish in 1872.

This area is also where ex President Ferdinand Marcos’s family comes from and is still held in high esteem by the locals despite the years of martial law and embezzlement. We visited the Marcos Museum where Ferdinand himself is laid out embalmed in a glass box.

Then it was back to Manila for the In-Country Orientation. There were 9 new AYADs destined for various places in the Philippines and one, Rachael, will be in Bacolod and also working for GK. She’s a livestock farmer from rural NSW and will be working on the Productivity team assisting in improving the farms in the GK villages. As usual ICO consisted of plenty of Karaoke & San Miguel beers. But a new addition to the activities was the Pinoy Amazing Race - an initiative to introduce the new AYAD’s to aspects of Filipino life while also getting out and about in downtown Antipolo. Us experienced AYAD’s were stationed at various places such as a food store, a health clinic, a transport hub etc while the newbies, in pairs had to follow clues to find us and get from us a briefing on that particular aspect of life in the Philippines. They all finished up at the market where they were assigned certain foods to purchase and that night cooked up a Pinoy BBQ for everyone. The following night it was our turn to cook up a BBQ Aussie style! There were a few goodbyes also as AYAD’s Dan, Ash & Patrick finished their assignments and were heading back to Australia. It brought it home for me that I’m now on my last leg with only 10 weeks to go. That thought inevitably brings mixed feeling of excitement at the prospect of seeing Jordi, family & friends again soon and the comforts and familiarity of home yet the sadness of leaving behind the friends I’ve made here and the certain aspects of the lifestyle and culture I’ve become accustomed to. But, no time to dwell on that just now! I still have 10 weeks after all!

Before heading back to our respective cities, 5 AYADs and our 2 German friends took a detour to Donsol, in Bicol Province, South East of Manila. This is the time of year when the Whale Sharks come to this area for feeding. With the perfect cone of Mayon volcano as our backdrop, we headed off shore in search of these majestic creatures that range from 4 to 18m in length! One crewman stands on the mast of the boat – he’s the spotter. The boat peacefully glides up and down the bay and all the while he’s got a keen eye on the water. Somehow he detects the slight shadows under the surface of the water that indicates the presence of a Whale Shark surfacing to feed. And then it’s all on! The boat speeds up, the crew get animated, we race to put on our snorkels and fins and perch on the side of the boat waiting for the guides signal to jump! In the water it’s a frenzy of eager yet nervous bodies trying to follow the guide. And then it appears suddenly out of nowhere, it’s characteristic broad flat head, wide mouth and white spots on it’s blue-grey skin. For a few seconds we stare in awe as it swims past before our brains snap back into action and we power up our arms and legs to swim along side it until it’s had enough and dives back down into the depths. This sequence was repeated 5 or 6 times before we headed back to shore for lunch. A truly amazing experience! The video I made tries to capture it, but if you can't make it out, you'll just have to try it for yourself some day :-)

24 - Frequently Asked Questions

1) How long does it take to build a GK village?

Like any construction project, the program will be affected by local conditions such as site location, cooperation of the local utility providers, experience of the Project Director, availability of materials, rain etc. The aim is to complete construction of a single detatched home in 14 to 18 days. A GK village should have a minimum of 30 homes. They usually average 50.

A GK village is not just houses but also includes site development such as water supply (usually artesian wells in the rural areas), drainage channels, waste water treatment (usually septic tanks). It also includes community facilities such as a multi-purpose hall, a pre-school, an office for the neighbourhood association (Kapitbahayan), a model house for visitors and a basketball court. A more established village with a good source of funding may also build a health clinic, a training centre, a youth centre etc.

A rough rule of thumb is 3ha for every 100 families. In the provinces, there is generally a 70/30 split between area for built structures and productivity area (the farm for food security).

2) How much does a GK house cost to build?

The current budget per house is 85,000 Philippino Pesos which at the current exchange rate is about AUD$2,800. This of course is materials only and GK negotiates with suppliers for discounts. The labour is free as the houses are constructed by the beneficiaries and volunteers from the community working together.

3) Who funds the construction?

All the funding for the projects relies on donations. These come from GK’s many and varied partnerships locally and internationally, e.g. corporations, schools, government, overseas Filipino workers, family donations etc.

4) How big is a GK house?

The standard size of a GK house is 24m2. While the designs vary from province to province, it is generally a single room with a toilet/wash cubicle in one corner and an outdoor or semi enclosed space for cooking. The internal partitioning, furniture and decoration is left up to the beneficiary family who will move in. The floor plan is designed such that partitions can be erected to create 2 bedrooms and a living space.

5) How are the beneficiaries selected?

The beneficiaries are usually selected in conjunction with the Local Government Unit (LGU) who have the records of the poorest of the poor in the particular area. In some cases (e.g. GK Hua Ming, Handumanan), it is a relocation project where a community of squatters already exists and is relocated from the land they are squatting on to the GK village. In other cases (e.g. GK Paraiso village, Banago), the GK village is built on the same land where the squatters have been living for decades.

6) Do the beneficiaries have to pay back the cost of their house?

No. But they do have to abide by certain rules to become and remain a GK beneficiary. The main 3 rules are:
· There is no drinking of alcohol in public within the village. They are allowed to drink privately in their homes.
· There is no gambling at all in the village.
· There is no prostitution at all in the village.
The beneficiaries also have to participate in 250 hours of “sweat equity” (working to build the houses) to qualify to become a beneficiary.

7) Do the beneficiaries own the house and land once they move in?

Not immediately. The first big hurdle is security of land tenure. Land is usually aquired in one of two ways. a) Private land is donated to the Local Government Unit for the purpose of establishing a GK village b) land that is already Government owned is appropriated for a GK village. Then a usufruct agreement is drawn up between the LGU and GK which is usually 50 years, renewable. The idea is that this will evolve towards individual ownership by the beneficiaries.

8) Is there a limit to the number of people who can live in one house?

The rule is 1 family 1 house. This is generally a mother, father and their 5 or so children. The accommodation of an extended family within one house is discouraged.

9) Can a beneficiary sell their house?

No. If the beneficiary decides to move out, the house will be returned to the neighbourhood association (Kapitbahayan) who will consult the waiting list and choose a new beneficiary for that house. The Kapitbahayan is comprised of residents and they are assisted by the caretaker team which are the local team of volunteers usually from Couples for Christ.

If the primary beneficiary passes away, the house can be inherited by his/her next of kin.

10) Are the houses all the same?

The construction material and design varies according to location however some standards have evolved based on efficiency of construction by unskilled hands and cost effectiveness. In Manila the houses tend to be row houses and multi-storey developments. In the provinces, the houses are more rural scale and there are standard designs for a single detached house and also a duplex.

All the houses in the same village will usually be the same design to eliminate any tendency for jealousy if one family has a ‘better’ house than their neighbour but also to maximise efficiency of construction through repetition of a standard design. Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule such as the proposed eco-village for Nordson, Victorias. It will have a standard house design for the local poor as well as a larger house design for employees of the land owner.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, the houses are more often than not constructed from concrete hollow blocks with steel reinforcing bars, infill cement floor and corrugated metal sheet roof. In many locations this remains the most economical, durable and practical in terms of construction by unskilled hands. However, in areas prone to flooding post and beam construction with fibre cement cladding has been used, and in areas with a prevalence of lime in the soil, compressed earth blocks have been made on site and used like bricks. Eventhough elevated post and beam construction and light weight materials might be the more appropriate response to the tropical climate, it is very challenging to overcome the cultural connotations of such materials – ie. “this is what we had in the slums, we deserve better than that in GK”. Better meaning concrete.