Following the series of earthquakes which jolted many parts of Davao and Central Mindanao, people have become fearful of living in huge concrete houses.
Rightly so, as many of the houses made of hollow blocks and concrete crumbled in the violent shaking of the ground caused by earthquakes which reached Intensity 6.
That crisis, however, opened a window of opportunity which the enterprising and creative Filipino keenly discovered.
Today, there is a brisk business for carpenters building one to two-room houses made of Bamboo.
Along the Cotabato-Davao Highway in Kidapawan City, there are several groups of carpenters who design and build Bamboo huts and Bamboo houses, including tables and benches.
A Bamboo hut with Nipa roof costs P25,000, a one-room Bamboo house P90,000 and a 2-room house P130,000.
As they build the bamboo huts and houses, farmers who have Bamboos in their farms are also making a decent living by selling Bamboo poles for as low as P40 each up to P100 for the long poles.
I talked to one of the carpenters, Danny Cimafranca, who said that the Bamboo Houses could withstand the earthquake because it would just sway with the earth’s violent movement.
It could be easily set up as the house could be loaded in a truck and delivered to anyplace here in Mindanao and perhaps even to parts of Visayas and Luzon.
Three days ago, I asked Danny to build a 2-bedroom Bamboo House for me and four Bamboo Huts.
It is my way of showing my admiration for the talent and resilience of these poor Filipinos.
As a personal advocacy, I will help organize the Bamboo carpenters of Cotabato into an association or cooperative and help them market their products.
With the help of my nieces and nephews, one of whom is an architect, we will introduce to them Bamboo House designs which they could build and ask my well-off friends to patronize the products.
Bamboo Huts and Bamboo Houses would look great in the farms of rich families.
In the process, we also support and pay tribute to the creativity and resilience of the Filipino in the face of a crisis.
#TalinoAtKakayahanNgPilipino!
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
(This video material, including the translation, was prepared by the Beauty & Bounty of Mindanao Media Team for the Mindanao Development Authority.)
https://fb.watch/aK10u0q5in/
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