MANILA, Philippines - Yolanda, one of the country’s most powerful storms in history, left a deep scar in the memories of Filipinos. To this day, many survivors continue their struggle to rebuild their lives and homes from ruin.
Coastal villages were one of the hardest-hit. Fisher folk communities were evacuated to nearby towns and were forced to leave their livelihood behind.
Nearly two years after the typhoon, some fishermen have yet to recover. How do they rebuild?
While the government and private sector have been building fiberglass boats to give to fishermen, Australian Michael Storer believes there is a better solution.
Storer came to the Philippines four years ago for the love of the sea, boats and sailing. “When I was 12, I discovered sailing by accident. I had an enormous free time as a teenager in the water and I would sail my boat around the bay and even reach different islands,” he said.
With a passion for boats, he started developing his own designs and would sell it on the Internet to make a profit, which was how he ran into the Philippine Home Boatbuilders Yacht Club. He contacted them in 2011, bought a one-way ticket to the Philippines, and has called the country home ever since.
His Internet business (storerboatplans.com) sells simple-to-build boat plans around the world using inexpensive materials such as plywood as its base.
“The reason why I like plywood is because you can build boats really fast. A month ago, we had a boat-building class at the Taal Conservation Center and over that weekend, 10 boats were built virtually from scratch to a painted finish,” he said.
He emphasized that when fishermen are given proper knowledge in designing and building their own boats, it gives them the upperhand in understanding their boat’s mobility and how they can further expand and improve on their designs.
“Last year, a few members of the group went to Iloilo and made some fishing boats for one to two people. They taught the fishermen how to build boats and they were able to make 40 boats in 2 days. It’s a really fast way of building, which people can wrap their minds around easily. This was for those who were affected in Yolanda whose boats were destroyed from the storm,” he said.
Storer is an advocate of the capabilities of local fishermen in being able to learn and adapt to the fisher-boat relationship. He believes that fishermen should be educated in their boat’s designs rather than being given a ‘one size fits all’ boat and losing their potential for ingenuity.