DIY shelters put up for Yolanda survivors

MANILA, Philippines –  The Forest Products Research and Development Institute has developed a do-it-yourself bamboo shelter project to help address the lack of shelter among the survivors of typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban.

The project was funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).

The DIY bamboo shelter, measuring 24 square meters, consists of a living room, kitchen, and bedroom.

It can be transported using a six-wheeler truck when packed, and can be assembled in three to four days. It also has electrical and water connection.

During the inauguration of the project in Palo, Leyte, DOST-VIII regional director Edgardo Esperancilla said the low-cost, semi-permanent shelter is intended to make housing more accessible to the public particularly the poor.

Palo mayor Remedios Petilla cited the effective combination of man and technology as a tool to enable people to survive and become more resilient.

The DIY bamboo shelter can be a means to catalyze and improve the bamboo industry in the country since there are many bamboo plantations that can be found in the northwest part of Samar and some parts of Leyte.

Initially, the DIY bamboo shelter was conceptualized to serve as temporary shelter for the survivors of typhoon Yolanda.

Feliciano G. Calora, Jr., director of the Forestry and Environment Research Division (FERD) of PCAARRD, said the council wanted to make sure the bamboo shelters would be semi-permanent, or if possible, a permanent shelter for the public.

This initiative is part of the DOST’s  Outcome One, which aims to provide science-based know-how and tools that will enable the agricultural sector to raise productivity to world-class standards.