Innovation
21/11/13 05:43
Being an island nation, many of the people of the Philippines earn their living from the sea. The traditions of fishing go back for millennia. The traditional Filipino fishing boat is called a Banca. The boats are based on earlier designs. They usually have a deep v hull with outriggers on both sides for added stability. Hulls were hollowed out logs in some early forms, but in contemporary times, most Banca are made out of plywood. The outriggers, as in former times, are made of bamboo. Banca come in many different sizes. In modern times, they are often powered by engines. It is not uncommon to have a Banca with an automobile or truck engine and transmission. The propellor is mounted on the end of the driveshaft.
Banca are used to transport people and goods and there are Banca that hold more than 100 people. The fishermen, however, use small Banca and paddles to ply their trade. There are a few outboard motors and other small motors that have been improvised for propulsion on small Banca.
The livelihood of many fishermen, however, disappeared in the roar of Super Typhoon Hayian. The boats were crushed and ripped asunder. No one is counting the number of destroyed boats as rescue efforts continue to focus on providing help to injured persons and recovery and burial of the dead. But without boats the fishermen have no income. Without boats they have no food to feed their families.
People can be remarkably innovative when the need is great. That is what happened in Tanauan, a small coastal town 20 km south of Tacloban. Tanauan used to be a fishing village. The storm, however, destroyed virtually all of the boats in the village and with them the opportunities for people to earn a living.
In a BBC interview Jimmy Obaldo, a local fisherman, told of how his children asked him if they could use an old refrigerator as a boat for play. He decided that if it would work for play, it might just work for fishing. He devised a frame and outriggers of bamboo and succeeded in catching fish and crabs. His neighbors imitated and soon there were enough improvised refrigerator boats in Tanauan to catch the attention of reporters covering storm damage and recovery. More importantly, there were enough refrigerator boats to catch enough fish to begin to feed the families of the fishermen.
As you might imagine, the boats are hardly hydrodynamic and they are difficult to paddle and steer. It takes four men to carry a boat out into the surf and they are usable only when the seas are very calm. They cannot carry as large nets as were common for fishing before the storm, so the nets have been cut into smaller sizes to suit the situation.
They aren’t catching enough fish to sell yet, and there is no market should they have extra fish, but the refrigerator boats are providing a return to work for some of the fishermen.
It can take several months to build a proper Banca. And it requires plywood. There is not currently any source of plywood in the area and if there were, it would likely be used to build homes and improve shelter for the people who are living in improvised homes. No one knows yet how long it will be before proper boats can be built and the fishing industry revived.
In the meantime, you have to marvel at the ingenuity of refrigerator boats. I watched a bit of video of the boats in action and I have no idea how they came up with the idea. Sure a refrigerator is water tight and, with the door removed displaces enough water to carry the load of a fisherman. They even ride in the water with enough freeboard to demonstrate their ability to carry additional weight. But a refrigerator is essentially a box and a box is far from stable in the water. A box tries to tip over and fill with water. A box resists motion with its flat sides pushing large amounts of water. A box is a far cry from the elegant and time-tested shapes of traditional Baca.
But there are plenty of destroyed refrigerators in the rubble of the destroyed town. They are available and can be obtained without money. And the fishermen have time and some innate knowledge of the sea and boatbuilding. A small amount of experimentation provided information on where to attach the beams and at what level the outriggers should ride. I suspect that it won’t be long before a fisherman discovers some other rubble that can be crafted to form a bit of a v at the bow of the boat to improve stability and make the craft a bit easier to steer and paddle. Everything has to be made from salvage. Different builders will find different materials and new ideas will emerge.
For now there is fresh fish for some families some days as the people of Tanauan work to recover from the devastation of the storm. I can’t help but wish them smooth seas and happy paddling as they head out to fish the shallow coastal waters.
I’m thinking that refrigerator boats aren’t going to catch on in the waters where I paddle. But we have never faced anything like the typhoon that ripped through the Philippines.
Still, I have seen people use their imaginations here this week. We are in the midst of our fall stewardship campaign. We are also playing a bit of catch up with this year’s budget after a year of special appeals including a major capital improvements fund drive. This coming Sunday is Blanket Sunday at our church. We have been asking for donations of our members at every turn. Still, we felt that it was important to share with them the letter from Rev. James Moos, the minister for Wider Church Ministries of our denomination. So we included that letter in our bulletin on Sunday. The response was generous and significant. Over $800 came in designated for Typhoon recovery. Additional gifts have come in during the week. Others have said that they will be making gifts in the coming weeks.
When we thought we had pushed the limits of the generosity of the congregation, we discovered that additional generosity still exists. The graciousness of the people and their compassion for those living in the Philippines is amazing.
Banca are used to transport people and goods and there are Banca that hold more than 100 people. The fishermen, however, use small Banca and paddles to ply their trade. There are a few outboard motors and other small motors that have been improvised for propulsion on small Banca.
The livelihood of many fishermen, however, disappeared in the roar of Super Typhoon Hayian. The boats were crushed and ripped asunder. No one is counting the number of destroyed boats as rescue efforts continue to focus on providing help to injured persons and recovery and burial of the dead. But without boats the fishermen have no income. Without boats they have no food to feed their families.
People can be remarkably innovative when the need is great. That is what happened in Tanauan, a small coastal town 20 km south of Tacloban. Tanauan used to be a fishing village. The storm, however, destroyed virtually all of the boats in the village and with them the opportunities for people to earn a living.
As you might imagine, the boats are hardly hydrodynamic and they are difficult to paddle and steer. It takes four men to carry a boat out into the surf and they are usable only when the seas are very calm. They cannot carry as large nets as were common for fishing before the storm, so the nets have been cut into smaller sizes to suit the situation.
They aren’t catching enough fish to sell yet, and there is no market should they have extra fish, but the refrigerator boats are providing a return to work for some of the fishermen.
It can take several months to build a proper Banca. And it requires plywood. There is not currently any source of plywood in the area and if there were, it would likely be used to build homes and improve shelter for the people who are living in improvised homes. No one knows yet how long it will be before proper boats can be built and the fishing industry revived.
But there are plenty of destroyed refrigerators in the rubble of the destroyed town. They are available and can be obtained without money. And the fishermen have time and some innate knowledge of the sea and boatbuilding. A small amount of experimentation provided information on where to attach the beams and at what level the outriggers should ride. I suspect that it won’t be long before a fisherman discovers some other rubble that can be crafted to form a bit of a v at the bow of the boat to improve stability and make the craft a bit easier to steer and paddle. Everything has to be made from salvage. Different builders will find different materials and new ideas will emerge.
For now there is fresh fish for some families some days as the people of Tanauan work to recover from the devastation of the storm. I can’t help but wish them smooth seas and happy paddling as they head out to fish the shallow coastal waters.
I’m thinking that refrigerator boats aren’t going to catch on in the waters where I paddle. But we have never faced anything like the typhoon that ripped through the Philippines.
Still, I have seen people use their imaginations here this week. We are in the midst of our fall stewardship campaign. We are also playing a bit of catch up with this year’s budget after a year of special appeals including a major capital improvements fund drive. This coming Sunday is Blanket Sunday at our church. We have been asking for donations of our members at every turn. Still, we felt that it was important to share with them the letter from Rev. James Moos, the minister for Wider Church Ministries of our denomination. So we included that letter in our bulletin on Sunday. The response was generous and significant. Over $800 came in designated for Typhoon recovery. Additional gifts have come in during the week. Others have said that they will be making gifts in the coming weeks.
When we thought we had pushed the limits of the generosity of the congregation, we discovered that additional generosity still exists. The graciousness of the people and their compassion for those living in the Philippines is amazing.