The province of Basey, Samar is located close to the area of Tacloban; one of the regions severely affected by Typhoon Yolanda. This region was faced with a large amount of resources lost due to damaged infrastructure, residences, and buildings. Due to this, thousands of people have also been displaced from their homes. While many receive temporary housing for such calamities, permanent and resilient homes remain to be a major and urgent concern.

Disaster-resilient housing was offered as a sustainable response to the recurring patterns of natural calamities in the area. Together with the Daughters of Charity, a Catholic organization dedicated to responding to the needs of the poor through service, Base Bahay has built eighty-six (86) houses in the municipality of Basey. Families who were heavily affected by Typhoon Yolanda have been able to receive these houses by the first quarter of 2018. Seventy (70) houses were turned over by January 7, while the remaining 16 were turned over in February.

The project is part of the Rebuilding Lives Project aided by the Society of Saint Vincent De Paul’s International Commission for Aid and Development (SSVP CIAD). The land is owned by the local government unit and was turned over to the beneficiaries in a usufruct arrangement for 99 years.

RESULTS
Houses Built: 86 houses (43 duplex units)
Beneficiary Profile: Yolanda Survivors
Area: Basey, Samar
Housing Type: Single-storey duplex

Jaro is one of seven districts in the province of Iloilo. Located in the region of Visayas, the district is home to a variety of cathedrals, gardens, and historical residences. However, Iloilo is also considered to be one of the Philippine provinces that is most vulnerable to typhoons in all seasons. Substandard quality housing becomes especially dangerous, threatening to collapse when challenged by harsh weather conditions. Thus, there is a strong demand for housing that is both disaster-resilient and affordable for Ilonggos.

The Homeless Peoples Federation of the Philippines Inc. (HPFPI) is an organization dedicated to consolidating various low-income community members and leaders in order to effectively create avenues for the proper upholding of rights and access to basic necessities for homeless people. With this, acquisition of quality housing has always been a priority for the organization. The collaboration between this organization and Base Bahay thus proves to be invaluable for the Ilonggo people, as it responds to the critical need for both community development and access to basic shelter. With this, their work is able to develop an increased sense of human dignity within the lives of the beneficiaries.

Base Bahay Foundation, Inc. has constructed 47 houses for families who have needed to relocate from their original homes due to the fact that these have been dilapidated by natural disasters. Some of these families were previously informal settlers as well.

RESULTS

Houses Built: 47 houses
Beneficiary Profile: relocated families
Area: Jaro, Iloilo
Housing Type: 2-storey duplex, row houses

The adjoining barangays of Payatas and Bagong Silangan are two of the most densely populated areas in North Quezon City, with fast-growing high risk slum settlements subsisting near dumpsites, creekside, under-bridge and other danger zones. Among these disadvantaged urban poor populations are a good number of families with children of varying disabilities, or elderly family members. Survival becomes doubly challenging for these families needing to look after vulnerable members. Mothers would generally sacrifice the time to earn a living just to be able to attend to the special needs of children with disabilities or elderly relatives. Fathers or other siblings are left to fend for the families, while generally struggling to earn modest income.

This is a major reason that forges the partnership among VMSDFI, Hilti Foundation and Base Bahay to collaboratively build twenty five 50 residential housing units in the Bagong Silangan site. These one story duplex houses can accommodate 50 families from high risk settlements. Beneficiaries for the said housing are families having children/ person with disabilities or elderly, single parents and their children, families living along danger zones or disaster prone areas and elderly as head of the family or whose grandchildren are in his/her care.

VMSDFI, Hilti Foundation, and Base Bahay are also taking this opportunity to promote the use of alternative, eco-friendly, gender sensitive and affordable houses for poor people by using bamboo. The implementers subscribe to the same value that the future of housing as well as that of Mother Earth lies in the use of alternative construction materials.

The vision is to provide these homeless families access to decent and safe shelter as entry point towards building ‘resilient, self-sustaining and caring community. While staying in the village, the families will be organized and supported through collective participation in welfare and community driven projects. The objective is to make them ready and capable of going mainstream to eventually acquire a house and lot of their own after their maximum transit occupancy.

PROJECT BENEFICIARIES

Hilti Foundation in partnership with VMSDFI will be constructing twenty five (25) units one story residential houses using bamboo as a primary construction material. The beneficiaries of the said project will be the poorest families of informal settlers, particularly those with children with disabilities (or other vulnerable members) living along high risk areas or danger zones in Payatas and Bagong Silangan.

Criteria for shortlisting

• Families living along danger zones or disaster prone areas.
• Families having children/ person with disabilities or elderly.
• Elderly as head of the family or whose 2-3 grandchildren are in his/her care.
• Single parent as head of the family with at least 2 children.

RESULTS

50 houses (25 single-storey duplex units) built in an easy-access area
250 individuals sheltered
Job Creation equivalent to 20 man years
25 people trained on bamboo carpentry and masonry
7,500 bamboo used in the construction
Savings of 350 to 600 tons CO2 equivalents

Long before the proliferation of the digital era and commercialization, the Ati tribe dominated the island of Panay as its original inhabitants. This tribal group exudes a unique culture with practices ranging from familial kinship, animism, and the use of herbal medicines (Ethnic Groups of the Philippines, n.d.). The intimate sense of ancient tradition present in this ethnic community enables it to preserve

The Atis have also been known to posses a desire to contribute to their community through attaining both meaningful education and employment. However, the issue of homelessness in urban areas pose a great threat to their health, productivity, and overall well-being. A lack of permanent shelter may ultimately leave Atis severely fatigued or ill. Moreover, the geographical location of the Ati’s rural homes in remote areas usually hinder their access to basic necessities. Daily practices such as travelling considerable distances to attain clean water or waking up at 3:00 AM to travel to school prove this and the growing need of sustainable homes for the Ati community.

Thus, the Base Bahay Foundation, JCI Iloilo Ilang Ilang, Ati Tribes Mission, the local government of Iloilo, and Western Institute of Technology (WIT) have collaborated to found the “Home Sweet Home” project. This is an initiative that aims to provide homes made out of Base Bahay’s Cement Bamboo Frame Technology to 24 families of the Ati Tribe in Iloilo City. The homes serve as a monumental transformation from the single community structure in which 200 members of the Ati tribe were compelled to live in. Basic services (such as water and electricity) have also been provided and the homes are conveniently located with schools nearby. All 24 houses were turned over to the beneficiaries last February 3, 2017.

Houses Built: 24 houses
Beneficiary Profile: Ati Tribes
Area: Brgy Lanit, Jaro, Iloilo
Housing Type: row-houses

The UN Habitat’s Post Yolanda Support for Safer Homes and Settlements Project intends to build over 500 houses for disaster-stricken areas in the island of Panay. With this, the UN focused on the cities of Panay and Pontevedra in Capiz and Estancia, Iloilo. Moreover, the partnership between UN Habitat and the Base Bahay Foundation is grounded on the purpose of providing shelter, reconstruction, and rehabilitation for families affected by typhoon Yolanda. Base Bahay has collaborated with the UN Habitat’s Post Yolanda Support for Safer Homes and Settlements Project through the creation of the Estancia Reconstruction Project; an initiative that will build approximately 21 houses for disaster-stricken communities in the municipality of Estancia, Iloilo.

In order to ensure that the new homes respond to the needs of the respective communities, both organizations actively conducted a series of site assessments, geo-technical assessments and beneficiary evaluations. This rigorous process resulted to the identification of twenty-seven beneficiaries for the twenty lots that have been allocated to create bamboo houses in the SUMaMa Zone 1.

The Estancia Reconstruction Project will serve as the reference for the one-story single detached bamboo house which will provide an opportunity for the beneficiaries to own resilient and environment friendly houses.

The purpose of establishing a project reference site is to test acceptability of bamboo as the primary or load bearing material in house construction and using the technology and structural integrity of Bamboo as tested by Hilti Foundation Technical Program. The reference site will also test the marketability of the price of bamboo houses or will be a tool for customer acceptance testing. Foundations of the 20 houses will be done by UN Habitat while the actual construction supervision and guidance will be done by Base Bahay, Inc., while the workers will be hired by SUMAMA.

RESULTS
Houses Built: 21 houses
Beneficiary Profile: Urban Poor
Area: Estancia
Housing Type: Single-Storey Detached

Barangay Cagaut, Salcedo is a coastal village in Eastern Samar that is no stranger to the overwhelming consequences of typhoons. The surge of typhoon Yolanda not only destroyed multiple homes and livelihoods but also created serious damage to the ecological systems of the area. After experiencing many disasters similar to this, a need for proper disaster risk reduction measures that do not degrade the natural resources of the province eventually emerged. This is the driving force behind the partnership of Base Bahay and the Institute of Environmental Science for Social Change.

The Institute Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC) is a Jesuit-based research and training institute that works to utilize both scientific research and sociology to promote environmental sustainability across Asia. Base Bahay collaborated with this group to create a comprehensive review of various relocation sites for typhoon victims, in order to design sustainable homes that are suitable for the natural conditions of these areas. ESSC’s expertise in the field of environmental sustainability and disaster reduction combined with Base Bahay’s technological resources enables both organizations to actively provide families with the opportunity to rebuild their lives in a concrete and sustainable manner – through proper permanent housing. Moreover, members of the Cagaut community also received skills training in construction and roofing to increase their opportunities of attaining additional livelihood in the near future. “Build Back Better” serves as the central theme for this project as it captures both the essence and the actions to be implemented in order to uplift the local community.

The beneficiaries of this project are members of a community whose main livelihood is fishing. They will be relocated from the lower area to Cagaut to the upper area in order to ensure that their residences are less at risk of floods.

RESULTS
Houses Built: 37 houses (18 duplex units)
Beneficiary Profile: Families living in danger zones
Area: Barangay Cagaut, Salcedo, Eastern Samas
Housing Type: Single-storey Duplex