Fish Homes

We were able to go out last week and watch new fish homes be deployed in our MPA (Marine Protected Area).  These were built in the mangroves and were taken out by raft (it took over an hour to get out there).  These 'homes' are made out of bamboo with Nipa fawns added to the top.  Fish like to congregate in these for safety.  The goal is to have fish move into the MPA and have a safe place to be able to reach full size.  So many fish are taken out of the ocean not in a mature state.  MPA's are no fish areas and have heaving fines/jail time for fishing inside them.

Part of what Lauren is trying to teach the fisherfolk is the importance of leaving the younger fish in the ocean in order for them to be able to grow to full size.  It's a difficult task as most are fishing to eat for the day and/or are selling in the market to support their family for that one day.  Putting anything back into the ocean decreases income but in the long run does so much more harm.  For without adult fish, spawning starts to infinitely decrease leading to less fish in general for the future.

To say the least it has felt like a whirl wind the past couple of weeks. It has been difficult to come back to our communities after the typhoon for aide is needed but at the same time everything else must go on as normal. World Vision (the organization Alan is partnered with) has now switched over to an aide organization from an development organization. There have been a lot of growing pains with this. Alan has been tasked to survey all of the schools to see what kind of damages has been down. Some schools are missing parts of their roofs, walls have been demolished, etc. School is in session but it's a chaotic environment and certainly not conducive to learning. Lauren, being partnered with the LGU (Local Government Unit) has been busy with the most recent elected government officials. This includes a 3 hour church/blessing service, swearing in ceremony and a 2 day introduction conference. She will be focusing her efforts with the officials in the coastal areas. She is also working on a project proposal to help the women of the community get back on their feet after the typhoon. This includes anything from micro financing, mental health after a traumatic event, emergency preparedness plans, etc.




With Alan traveling to all of the schools he has been able to take in some of the country side. The choice of animal to be used here for blowing is Carabao. They are so fun to watch when they are cooling off in the water/mud pits (for those who don't know, carabao don't have sweat glands so every few hours thay have to take a 'bath' so they don't overheat). Most have black hair but there are a few that have white hair. As you can see, the white haired carabaos look like they are sunburned, we are pretty much relating this to ourselves. Being white in the Philippines means that you will pretty much always be sunburned:)




FYI - we are still without electricity so please be patient as we cannot update the blog as recent as we would like. We have to take an hour long bus ride to get into the city for internet.