The Guardhouse - Coastal Protection in Carles

By Lauren Willis

First, a little background on this project. 

Before Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) hit Panay last year our friend and fellow PCV Tyler Hassig was assigned in Carles, Iloilo. It's a beautiful peninsular community on the East most tip of Panay Island and the gateway to a series of spectacular small islands which are a popular vacation spot for the locals. The storm hit this area hard, crippling the infrastructure enough that he wasn’t able to return and had to change sites. This didn't however change his love and devotion to the original community he was given.  

Special grant money was allocated for affected areas hit by Typhoon Yolanda and since Tyler, Alan and Lauren all qualified for this they were able to pool their allotted $300 each for one project.  This project was to rebuild a floating guard house for the Barangay Barosbos Management Association (BBMA), a community lead and successful marine protection agency in Carles.

Check out Tyler's blog at: http://tylerhassig.wordpress.com

In the last week of September, after months of planning and grant writing, construction began. 

The entire guard house was built in one week.  

What can be done with nipa and nylon is amazing. Since nails rust so easily in the salt water and air the whole guard house was tied together with nylon line. 

13 kilos were used to create this structure.

The Launch
Photos by Alan Willis

This past weekend the three of us were able to go back up to Carles for the official launching of the floating guard house. We were amazed at how high it sits in the water, a buoyant and sturdy design by Romel Marcelino, president of BBMA.

When we asked why he is doing this, he pointed to his children and said to help the next generation.  

From left: Romel, Jolly (Municipal Agriculture Officer), Lauren, Tyler 

BBMA is the volunteer fisherfolk association in Carles that patrols the local Marine Protected Area (MPA). They had a floating guard house before Yolanda hit but it was destroyed.  It is much easier and more effective to patrol the MPA using this guard house instead of boats. Boats need fuel and many fisherfolk don’t have extra money to purchase this. This also allows fisherfolk to be near the area instead of on the shoreline, which is about 1 kilometer away. 

The members of this organization don’t get salaries, they get a percentage of the fine and any equipment that is seized of from the illegal fishing operation. Common illegal fishing technics include net fishing in the MPA, but can even be as bad as dynamite and cyanide fishing.

Kids are the best test for structural integrity.

New MPA markers were built to warn fisherfolk that they are 

entering a restricted area.

BBMA built concrete condos for fish aggregation. 

Before they are hauled out to the MPA, kids use them to show off. 

It was nice to see that Brgy. Barosbos is absolutely resilient while maintaining care for the environment. It is such a fine balance between feeding your family today and using environmentally friendly practices to ensure food for tomorrow.  We are glad there are groups like this that care for the future food supply of their community.

From Singapore With Love

Just over the halfway mark of our Peace Corps service we took 

a quick three hour flight to Singapore for a long weekend getaway.

Gardens by the Bay consisted of tropical beauty mixed with modern architecture and civil planning. Here we were able to walk both the grounds and in the sky between the sculpted metal trees.  

Two domed atriums provided an array of flowers and cactus from all around the world and a six story waterfall tree house.

We went to the botanical gardens where it's free to walk around the grounds. 

This is where the world's largest orchid display is, it's truly a serene place. 

Some species had been breed for world leaders that have visited. This deep maroon was for a leader from Namibia.

Many cultures converge in Singapore. Both China Town and Little India were celebrating holidays, leaving the streets beautifully decorated.

What a beautiful city, filled with multiple industries, gardens, and cultures.  

We even found time for a cooking class.

 What do you know, it just happened to be the weekend of the 

Formula One Singapore Airlines Grand Prix night race.

(Yeah right, Alan has been planning this one for a year).

Nico retired early costing him his lead and valuable constructor's points while 

Hamilton held on for the win.

RICE - Beautiful Rice

By Lauren and Alan

  

This farmer is part of an irrigation co-op who gain access to a tractor and thresher each season for the cost of 2.5 sacks of rice per hectare they reap. 

Most do it the old fashion way with draft animals like this carabo.

Each year farmers harvest four to six crops and a harvest has just finished here.  Most rice is grown on small family farms averaging in size from 0.5 to 4.0 hectares and many Filipinos rely of this livelihood. It's difficult to believe that they are one of the largest importers of rice in the world. 

According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) there are three main factors for the importing of rice.  The amount of suitable land for growing is only 43,000sq kilometers (the total land mass of the Philippines is 300,000sq kilometers).  Combined with the current population, estimated at 97 million and a growth rate of around 2% (among the highest in the world); the current production can’t keep up with the growing demand.  Finally, infrastructure is poor; ranging from irrigation to transportation. The good news is there is a potential for increased production with an increase in infrastructure.

Don't forget the cost of fertilizer and pesticides. 

Rice is laid out on bamboo mats and dried in the sun.

The collective market share the mills achieve allow them to gain the 

competitive edge and set the selling price. 

Most farmers take their rice to large mills in order to get a better price.  Their payment usually isn’t in Pesos but in product.  These mills act as a co-op for the smaller farmers.

Depending on the type of seeds used (most use the older rice varieties that produce less per hectare compared to the certified or hybrid seeds), 2.75 Metric Tons  - 6.5 Metric Tons can be produced per hectare.  What does this mean, those that produce at the low end will have 36 bags of un-milled rice while those at the higher end will have 86 bags of un-milled rice.  Most bags are 45-75kg as seen in the picture above. 

Rice moves towards our municipal center located along the coast line. It travels down this main road and rarely goes the other way up into the mountains. Lack of access to a market further impoverishes those living in the farthest barangays.