Photo for November 16, 2023
Market stores for local handicraft products
Handicraft products are very often made at home in remote villages. They are sold directly on the street or through stalls and stores at the markets. These include forged items such as pot holders for open fires, axes and machetes. TITLE IMAGE: Here you can see grass brooms. These are generally used in huts and houses to remove dust. I have been to villages where almost the entire population does nothing but make these brooms. It is a long labor process. The grass for these brooms should grow in the surrounding area. It is cut and laid out on the streets to dry, then beaten on large stones or rocks to remove loose and unwanted fibers. Then the brooms are made from it, large and small. Later, someone from the village is tasked with taking the goods to market. One of the stores on the market. There are many handcrafted products, recognizable by the rather rough wooden handles. There are dustpans that are cut from 16 kg cooking oil cans, to which a handle made from a 1″x2″ unplaned wooden slat is simply nailed. The many woven items are striking. More and more plastic items are finding their way into these stores. An important utensil is the chamber pot. However, the chamber pot is also very important for market stallholders, itinerant traders and other small businesses. They use these chamber pots as money boxes. According to superstition, this is supposed to bring about good business and an increase in money. The names of the owner of the ‘Native Store’ were unexpected for me here. What a colorful mix. Paypay in the small version, also available in larger sizes. Paypay is the hand fan for cooling. In addition to these simple, braided ones, there are also more elaborate ones made of lace, entirely made of plastic as an advertising medium and so on. Another look in one of these stores on the market. Such stores are a treasure trove of things where you often have to ask what they are used for. Most of the items are not too expensive and can often be bought as souvenirs and keepsakes and are much cheaper in the markets than in the souvenir stores in the malls. See the video of the public market in Dumaguete: PUBLIC MARKET in DUMAGUETE
At home in the bay of Tambobo
In the late 1980s, Emma Palallos, then in her twenties, arrived at Tambobo Bay situated at the southern tip of Negros Oriental province. This body of water, nestled between Barangays Bonbonon and Siit in the town of Siaton, had long been a favored destination for fishermen. They would anchor their boats along its shores after a week-long voyage or bring their vessels for necessary repairs. Palallos had recently relocated as an evacuee from Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province. Upon her arrival, she joined a group of around 30 local fishers and residents, organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to plant mangroves along the Tambobo shoreline. One day, a yacht sailed into the cove. Its owner, later identified as an American named Bruce, admired the surroundings and chose to dock his yacht there, eventually making it his home by the bay. Shortly after, another yacht arrived. Palallos, now 52 years old, observed that these cruisers seemed to be communicating with one another, given the continuous influx of yachts. News quickly spread about the breathtaking scenery in Tambobo Bay, attracting both locals and tourists who came to capture photos or feature this attraction in their video blogs. Entrepreneurial Concept Inspired by their mangrove planting efforts, recognized with a stewardship certificate from DENR in 2007, Emma and her husband Bernardo conceptualized a business venture. Seeking permission, they constructed a scenic view deck amidst the mangroves. This elevated spot not only provides a serene panorama of yachts dotting the bay but also offers visitors a warm cup of coffee, refreshing calamansi juice, light snacks, or simple meals. “At first, catering to the culinary preferences of the western yacht owners posed a challenge because of their diverse tastes. I had to adapt and learn their specific meal preferences,” Emma shared. With the assistance of their three daughters, Emma adeptly prepares Western meals for yacht owners and other guests. Melchor Anque, the chief of Bonbonon village, noted the varied nature of yacht owners. “Some days, you encounter very pleasant individuals, and on other days, not-so-easy-to-please ones,” he chuckled. Tambobo Bay, now home to approximately 50 yachts from around the globe, has become a captivating spectacle. Picturesque images of boats set against a backdrop of mangroves have been featured in travel magazines, vlogs, and TV documentaries worldwide. The yacht owners form a diverse group, as stated by Anque. “You encounter highly affable individuals on certain days, but there are also those who are a bit more challenging to deal with,” he remarked. During his previous term as a village councilman over 12 years ago, Anque recalled the council’s attempt to levy a mooring tax on boats within the bay. However, this proposal was rejected by the municipality, citing that the boats were in municipal waters, not barangay waters. Recently, Anque mentioned that he heard Siaton municipality had begun charging mooring fees. Due to Tambobo Bay’s location at Negros Island’s southernmost point, the Philippine Navy has established a detachment near the entrance to oversee vessels arriving and departing. Representatives from the Bureau of Customs or the Bureau of Immigration periodically visit the area to monitor the status of guests aboard the boats. To focus on their view deck business and manage the yachts as hired caretakers, Bernardo eventually transitioned from being a fisherman. Some foreign boat owners, temporarily absent from the Philippines, entrusted their boats’ safety and upkeep to them. “Currently, only around 10 yachts have their owners living aboard here,” Emma added. Community Assistance Diane Pool, a 71-year-old graphic artist, is among the yacht owners who opted to reside in Tambobo. She and her husband Bill, a forensic geologist, sailed into the cove two decades ago and instantly fell in love with the locale. They decided to prolong their stay, with Bill imparting boat-building and repair skills to the locals while Diane established a school for children to supplement their formal education. Although Bill passed away in 2009 while vacationing in the United States, Diane returned to the Philippines to continue their shared dream in Tambobo Bay. Due to the suspension of formal classes amid the pandemic, Diane dedicated her time to the community’s children. She assisted them in honing their graphic design skills on the computer and improving their reading, writing, and other essential life abilities. With the easing of quarantine measures, children and teenagers from the community now gather at a rented bamboo house, conveniently located near the naval outpost, to participate in the “Saturday Workshop.” Here, they have access to Diane’s three computers with wide screens. After the workshops, Diane paddles back to her 35-foot Atkins sailboat, named “Pilar” after Ernest Hemingway’s novel character. Lovingly constructed by the Pools themselves starting in 1975 in California, Pilar boasts a two-cylinder engine, capable of running for an average of 24 hours on 102 liters of fuel, covering about 100 nautical miles at a speed of five knots (around 9 kilometers per hour). The boat features berths for four individuals, a bathroom, a kitchen with a sink, oven, and wood-fueled stove, a canning machine, and a water supply of 340 liters, sufficient for a month. Diane has been undertaking repairs on Pilar herself, with assistance from local men in the village. It took the Pools nine years to launch Pilar in 1984, and since then, it has been their floating home for the past 36 years—almost two-thirds of Diane’s life, as she humorously noted. After seven more years of work, they set sail from San Francisco in 1991, exploring various islands worldwide. Diane expressed her profound love for Tambobo, emphasizing the joyful sounds of fishermen preparing for their sea voyages, the lively banter, laughter, and camaraderie among them. She also finds solace in the refreshing sounds of children at play and the bustling activities of local women sweeping their yards with broomsticks. “It’s the genuine humanity of this place that captivates me,” Diane remarked. “I aspire to shed my American …