Luzviminda ( area name of family's home )

Now back in Japan, Tokyo seems a million miles away from the jungles of Palawan. It was difficult to update the blog when there is no electricity, let alone internet acces. Actually some areas that I was in electricity is provided for a few hours a day by generator but as you can imagine having a computer is a luxury few can afford although in one village I was escorted to one house with a computer but as the village was without elec., it was merely a showpiece.
Upon arriving in Palawan in early March I set off to the property to see how Crysle and her family were doing.
We had helped to relocate them to a better area with a new nipa and rattan hut. Nipa is thatched material made from the dried branches of a member of the palm tree family. The family gathered the nipa and rattan for free from the jungle. Rattan is the same cane material used in making furniture that is popular for gardens in the west. Crysle, her mother, all the girls and youngest children sleep in the nipa hut while the father and older boys sleep in the older hut across the road. It should be noted that nipa and rattan huts are great beach shelters to escape the hot sun and they are the main building materials for families living in the jungle without much resourses. They are cheap and easy to build but are not typhoon proof, rain or wind proof and earthquake proof and on top of that they easily catch fire as the cooking is done alongside the huts.