Again, I want to share about another theme: the houses in the Layag-Layag Mangrove Village.
This is one of the floating villages we passed by before we reached the community we visited. Indeed, these are houses on stilts.
And here are the houses at the village:
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| photo credit: Doc Anton Lim |
And sometimes, houses are connected to each other by bamboo poles.
Do you notice the ropes?
These are the ropes to stabilize the houses.
And these are the tires to where the ropes are attached.
Abs confirmed that they really stay in the houses while there are typhoons!
This is the undersurface of the house.
And here is an example of a weather-beaten house!... Can you imagine if this is the effect of the typhoon?
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| Photo Credit: Michelle Lim |
And this is the community further on, already partly on land...
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| Mosque from afar |
We have witnessed how they live in this village... and definitely, it is not easy.
We know how we complain of floods, but here, they actually live it!
But as they say, the Tausug are sea people and literally "Tao" means people and "sug" means (sea) current, therefore, "People of the Sea Current"!
Their life revolves around these stilt houses and the seaweed farms but still they need to go to the mainland to sell their seaweeds and where they get their other needs such as marketing, shopping and schooling!
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| Gangnam style by the Travel Reportage group Photo Credit: Doc Anton Lim |
They're just anchored by tires? No kidding! I'm having a hard time processing that hehehe. But if it works, it works. I could still see the houses are upright anyway :-)
ReplyDeleteI saw tires and another was just wires covered with seaweeds... I still couldn't imagine how it is during the typhoon but Abs said they stay inside the house...
DeleteHow do they bathe, wash clothes, etc? Where does the dirty water go after? How did the settlers start putting up homes in this place? ... sorry but I can't help to wonder how some things are possible in such village :)
ReplyDeleteExactly, Farida. I saw water flow through the floor and I presume they were washing the dishes...
Deletecool! i hope to visit in a place like this. it would like an adventure ^^
ReplyDeleteThat is one of the problems of living above sea. The typhoon especially now that they are often visited by typhoons unlike before. Yet they are happy in their life.
ReplyDeleteThere are many more situations in different places here in the Philippines. We are known to be happy people regardless what challenges we have in life. We should just be thankful for what he have and stop complaining because there are others who don't even have the comforts of facilities we have right now.
ReplyDeleteAdmirable people who can still smile despite their condition. Parang tuwing babagyo, hindi ko maaiiwasan na kabahan. O sanayan lang? Mahirap din mangapit bahay within the village, lagi kang mababasa :D
ReplyDeleteQuite an adventure! People really do adapt to their surroundings and I hope they will always be safe.
ReplyDeleteI love your posts, Doc. It opens my eyes to places like this! I have barely gone to places like this (and there are a lot, I guess, in the Cordilleras. communities with hand to mouth existence and in danger of the elements)
ReplyDeletesome of those houses looks scary to me. i hope its still safe.
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting community. Nakakaaliw to learn about their unique lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteLahat papunta din sa dagat. Doc have you been to Rio Hondo? Sumama ako minsan sa kaibigan ko during my college days. Para syang subdivision na nasa ibabaw ng dagat. hehe :)
ReplyDeletewow! so inspiring. It's not that because they are filipinos, they are strong enough to handle the situation they are in but it's just that humans are modeled to be very resilient. Some people are fortunate and some are not and we can't do something about it but just to deal with it and see what happens next. Your life adventures are so so educational. BRAVO! <3
ReplyDeleteI feel very deeply about TYBH and Layag2 because it has touched the hearts of my entire family. We plan to go back on December for another round of charity work.
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