Antique’s seaweed farmers hope for recovery after Yolanda

ANTIQUE, Philippines – In the beautiful and idyllic island of Maniguin in Antique province, seaweeds (locally called tambalang) are life to farmers.

They are the primary source of income for the 828 residents of this island-barangay. They sell the commodity to buyers within and outside the province. It is also an alternative source of food for the people of Maniguin when the fishermen’s catch on some days is not enough.

With summer just around the corner, seaweed farmers are wondering if their replanted “seaweed of life” floating in an area of 50 hectares can fully recover and sustain their livelihood after Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan) totally washed out the seaweed farms last November.

Maniguin village chief Nica Torres said the seaweed farmers need additional seedlings and other materials, like styrofoam that is used to keep the seaweeds afloat, as well as rope and straw lace.

The Fisheries and Aquaculture Department says the best months for growing seaweeds are from November to July, with March to May as peak growth months – the time Yolanda struck.

Harvesting is supposed to be undertaken after 45 days, then the harvested seaweeds are left to dry under the sun for 2 to 3 days.

One kilogram of dry seaweeds requires 6 to 9 kg of fresh seaweeds, says the department.

The seaweed farmers hope to harvest on time and, with the income, buy materials to rebuild houses and boats lost to the typhoon.

Maniguin still needs help

Accessible via a 3-hour boat ride from the mainland, the 35-hectare Maniguin is one of the island-barangays of Culasi town. The other two are barangays Batbatan and Malalison.

Yolanda displaced many residents, with 95 houses totally damaged and 78 partially damaged. Only 6 houses have remained intact.

Torres said the island still need help with food supplies. Whatever catch the fishermen get from the sea is not enough to support the island’s population.

They are also in need of construction materials because many families still have no decent shelter to protect them.

“Teh kung may jan pa daad nga ma bulig ang gobyerno, nami pa gid daad kung mabuligan pa kami. Ga problema gid ako sa mga tawo ko ja sa Maniguin ilabi run gid sa pagkaon kag livelihood nanda,” Torres implored. (If there is still aid from the government, it would be much better if they can help us. I am really concerned for my constituents here in Maniguin, especially their need for food and livelihood. 

Memories of Yolanda

Torres herself ordered the evacuation of the barangay on November 7. More than 800 residents gathered in the 5 rooms of the school and in the one-room health center and spent the night there.

With so limited space, it was standing room only.

In the middle of the typhoon, one of the school buildings with two rooms was damaged, prompting the drenched evacuees to transfer to the remaining 3 rooms.

Yolanda struck the island around 2 pm of November 8, according to Torres. Galvanized iron sheets flew around and, the following day, all was calm but people were crying over the unexpected devastation of the idyllic island.

Rising from the ruins

The evacuees returned to what were left of their homes and began temporary repairs.

Around 10 boats were damaged during the onslaught. A coconut tree fell on one boat, while a damaged house fell on a pump boat.

“Grabe ang hibi kang mga tawo pagkakita da ka mga balay da (The people cried so hard upon seeing what was left of their homes),” Torres said.

The evacuation center remained occupied by those who totally lost their houses until more than a week later.

The residents were thankful to some foreigners from Boracay and Reverend Father Rey Caseñas of the Parish of Saint Michael the Archangel, Culasi, who donated tarpaulins and other materials for temporary shelters.

There was no electricity because the typhoon destroyed electrical posts and wires, but luckily the generator of the Antique Electric Cooperative (Anteco) that supplies electricity in the island was undamaged.

Electricity in the island was restored by December but until now several houses are still in darkness due to the lack of light bulbs, wirings, and electric meters.

The barangay gets its water source from 67 water tanks situated among the houses and several deep wells used for washing and cooking rice. Rainwater is caught in the water tanks, which is used for drinking.

During the typhoon, the seawater overflowed into one of the deep wells and the rotten smell of dead fish permeated from the well after the typhoon – with the freshwater turning salty.

Smart and Globe are the island’s communication service providers, but it took more than a month before the signal was restored. The residents connect their cellphones to antennas to be able to use them.

Help came long after

Due to the big and strong waves brought by the typhoon, it took more than a week before the boats were brave enough to traverse the waters between the island and the mainland.

Torres travelled to Culasi to get the relief goods for the barangay on November 15 yet, when most residents were already half-starving from hunger.

She was able to take home rice, canned goods and noodles from the Local Government Unit (LGU), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) who also distributed clothing and Gawad Kalinga that also donated water.

Let’s Care, a non-government organization (NGO), donated galvanized iron sheets, marine plywood, and other construction materials for 25 families. These were given to those whose houses were totally damaged.

They also donated bed sheets, soap, shampoo, and other hygiene products.

The barangay’s food sources and agricultural sectors were greatly affected by the super typhoon. Yolanda wiped out the banana and coconut trees in the island. Balinghor or pechuca plants were also wiped out.

After the typhoon, fever and cough became a problem, especially with children and the elderly, but good Samaritans from nearby Boracay island held a medical mission and distributed boxes of medicines and vitamins.

Residents cannot depend on aid all time, however. So now, as summer approaches, the seaweed farmers hope their source of income would recover just in time for the June harvest. – Rappler.com

(The writers and photographer are volunteers for the Typhoon Yolanda Story Hub Visayas, a citizen journalism portal created on November 13, 2013, by veteran journalists, student writers, mobile journalists, and photographers based in Iloilo City. The Hub delivers reports from across the Panay Island, especially the severely damaged and minimally covered northern Iloilo and the provinces of Antique, Capiz, and Aklan.)