BY: REY ANTHONY H. CHIU
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol, June 6 (PIA) – The organization tasked by the government to deliver the more than 8,000 core shelters for earthquake victims in Bohol defends its recent decision to demand from beneficiaries a bamboo slat counterparts.
Vince Delector, Habitat for Humanity Project Manager, in a radio interview pleaded for understanding from Boholano beneficiaries of the government Core Shelter Assistance Program (CSAP) for the additional bamboo slats as construction material counterpart.
The original Habitat design was for the core shelters to have environmentally friendly bamboo slatted walls reinforced with concrete palisade which levels with the windows bottom, Delector pointed out.
This however was not the ultimate protection against the rains which could seep into the woven bamboo slats (sigkat/siklat), he added.
It may be recalled that the government signed an understanding with Habitat to build Bohol’s 8,083 core shelters which the government gives to victims whose houses were totally destroyed by the earthquake.
Habitat had the winning design in its core shelters, but it recently realized that the rainy season impacts so much on the protection the house could afford its occupants.
To solve this, Habitat now thinks reinforcing the bamboo slats with cement to the rafters would insulate the house from the rains, so that they reintegrated the reinforcements to the bamboo slatted walls.
The resulting product is a wall that resembled full concrete poured wall, which stops the rain water from getting into the house, but in essence, it’s just one with a bamboo framework, Delector explained.
The additional reinforcing also compels builders to readjust budgets to accommodate more cement used. This also impacts on the cost of the entire core shelter unit.
And just as bamboo is easier to source out over cement, Habitat has asked mayors and beneficiaries to shoulder the bamboo slats on top of its labor counterparts for the building.
The government through the DSWD and local governments fund P70,000 for the core shelters while Habitat puts up the additional P18,000 in cash, labor, trainings and other measures to make the new owner beneficiaries sustain their occupancy of the shelter. (mbcn/rahc/PIA7-Bohol)