April-May Issue of YP Enewsletter Now Available

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cover of the April-May issue of YP Enewsletter

cover of the April-May issue of YP Enewsletter

The latest issue of our YP Enewsletter is now out and available for downloading. For this issue, we give you the latest updates on the various project activities that TAO-Pilipinas has been involved with. There is an update about the ongoing Urban Container Gardening Project spearheaded by the ACCA Navotas youth leaders which is made possible by Give2Asia and Starbucks Philippines. There is also another article about the Knowledge Sharing Forum where the results of the recently concluded Pilot Demonstration Activity in Sitio Pulo, Brgy. Tanza, Navotas funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) was presented. The Knowledge Sharing Forum was organized by ADB and was attended not only by most of the TAO Staff but also the community leaders from Sitio Pulo as well as invited guests such as Dept. of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Francisco Fernandez. The enewsletter also discussed the Dialogue on Historic Preservation that was held last March 2013. This workshop was organized by TAO-Pilipinas with the cooperation of Bakas Pilipinas and Mapua Institute of Technology.

Aside from the mentioned articles, the enewsletter also contains book reviews on the titles that we have in our TAO Resource Center and network activity updates from our different partner networks like Partnership of Philippine Support Service Agencies, Inc. (PHILSSA) and Philippine Misereor Partnership Incorporated (PMPI).

TAO Introduces Historic Preservation to Network Partners

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TAO-Pilipinas introduced historic preservation to its network partners through a workshop held on March 5, 2013 at the Mapua Institute of Technology in Intramuros. Dubbed as a “Dialogue on Historic Preservation”, the workshop was organized in collaboration with Bakás Pilipinas, a non-profit organization based in the US that promotes the preservation of historic architecture and sites in the Philippines. The Mapua School of Architecture, Industrial Design and the Built Environment co-sponsored the workshop.

Network partners

Some of the participants in the workshop which includes network partners and invited guests

Some of the participants in the workshop which includes network partners and invited guests

Attended by close to 60 participants, the workshop was carried out to respond to the results of a survey on heritage conservation that TAO-Pilipinas conducted among its NGO network partners last December. In that survey, several of its network partners expressed a need to learn more about heritage conservation as it relates to community development and urban poor issues. Among those who attended the workshop were representatives of Community Organizers Multiversity (COM); Philippine Partnership for Support Service Agencies (PHILSSA); Foundation for the Development of the Urban Poor (FDUP); Urban Poor Associates (UPA); and Socio-Pastoral Institute (SPI). Participants from the academe likewise attended, representing PUP College of Architecture and Fine Arts; UP College of Architecture; UST College of Architecture; and the UP Archaeological Studies Program.

Program and speakers

TAO-Pilipinas tapped Bakás Pilipinas as resource person. The survey results were shared with them and they designed a day-long program with topics covering the various learning needs identified in the survey. The program was divided into five major topics: Introduction to Historic Preservation; Preservation of Architectural Heritage; Preservation of Intangible Heritage; Urban Heritage Conservation; and Disaster Relief for Heritage Properties.

Presenters consisted of the Bakás Pilipinas team, namely Roz Li, retired former Principal of Li/Saltzman Architects; Cristina Paterno, Executive Director of San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Fund; Pascale Montadert, Anthropologist Consultant; and Trix Rosen, Architectural Photographer. They brought to the workshop valuable knowledge and expertise gained from years of experience as historic preservationists.

Preservation projects

Roz Li leading the team of Bakas Pilipinas in educating the workshop participants about historic preservation

Roz Li leading the team of Bakas Pilipinas in educating the workshop participants about historic preservation

Roz Li led the team in presenting the different aspects of historic preservation. She discussed the significance of historic preservation, the criteria for determining historic structures and sites, and the scale of intervention. She explained the different types of intervention from the no-intervention approach to reconstruction and replication. She gave examples of historic preservation projects to highlight these various interventions. She stressed the need to establish the preservation philosophy of a project to determine the appropriate type of intervention to be done.

Many of the projects she presented were those undertaken by her firm, including landmark preservation projects in the New York City metropolitan area that have received preservation awards. One of the most interesting projects that she featured was the Tenement Museum in New York, a tenement building which housed immigrant families in the 1860s-1930s that has been restored as a historical landmark. The building reflects early 20th century living conditions and is considered as a three-dimensional museum of housing laws development in New York City.

Ms. Li highlighted historic preservation as an interdisciplinary field, entailing the involvement of historians, architects, archaeologists, conservators/conservation scientists and anthropologists. These diverse expertise are needed throughout the preservation process, especially in the steps prior to the restoration of a historic building or site.

Urban heritage conservation was also discussed by Roz Li. She explained the various levels of landmark designation and highlighted the role of NGOs in community-based preservation projects, giving several examples of successful urban preservation projects in the US. She likewise featured projects that addressed disaster relief for heritage properties and the various funding strategies that can be tapped for preservation projects.
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Publications Available at TAO-Pilipinas

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Last 2012, one of our board of directors, Arch. Rosario ‘Ning’ Encarnacion-Tan, released a self-published book entitled, 100 Things About Building With Bamboo. The book is like a primer and provides basic information about bamboo and building with bamboo in general. It also provides insights about living in a bamboo house base on the author’s personal experience of living in a bamboo made house. This book is available at the TAO office for 200.00 Php.

Aside from the abovementioned publication, TAO-Pilipinas, Inc. has produced publications as a result of the numerous capacity building training and the direct technical assistance given by the organization. These publications are available only in our office. Here are some of the books published by TAO-Pilipinas, Inc.:

Modyul ng Workshop: Pagpaplano ng Komunidad para sa Pabahay na Medium-Rise
This book is a facilitator’s guide on how to conduct a participatory community planning for medium-rise housing. The book is written in Filipino so that communities will be able to understand the workshop much better. The module is divided into two parts: the Planning Workshop and the Validation Workshop. Included in the workshop module are visual aids and materials that can be used for the planning workshop. This workshop module is a step-by step guide on how community architects conduct participatory community planning and development.  This publication is sold at 175.00 Php. Delivery charges are not included.
Gabay Para sa Paggawa ng Bahay na Yari sa Konkreto
This book is a construction manual that gives design and construction tips to those who are interested on building a house made of concrete. The book was created for our urban poor community groups who are interested into doing self-help housing construction. The book aims to give the layman a basic knowledge of how to build a house made of concrete. It is written in Filipino and the guidelines are categorized according to structural elements (example: foundation, walls, floors, etc.). The book is just a basic guide and would be most useful to individuals with construction know-how (example: mason, carpenters, etc.). This is available for sale at 150.00 Php. Delivery charges are not included.
Gabay sa Pagsasanay sa Community-based Solid Waste Management
TAO-Pilipinas, Inc. has been giving CBSWM training to our partner communities through the years. This training module is a result of those trainings. This book is a facilitator’s guide on how to conduct a community-based solid waste management (CBSWM) training. It is written in Filipino and serves as a step-by step guide on doing CBSWM. The book is divided into 10 modules that includes the monitoring and evaluation portion of CBSWM. Visual aids and workshop tools are also incorporated in the book to better facilitate the training. This training module is sold at 300.00 Php. Delivery charges are not included.
Idrm_coverntegrating Disaster Risk Management in Site Planning and House Design in Resettlement Projects
This book is a result of the research done in Albay Province about integrating disaster risk management in site planning and house design of resettlement projects. The research was done from 2008-2009 during the construction of resettlement sites for Typhoon Reming victims. This book contains three research reports namely: Good Practices and Gaps in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Education and Disaster Preparedness in Albay Province by Rosalyn-Frances Marcelo, Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Considerations in the Design of Shelter Units in Albay Resettlement Sites by Geralding Matabang, and Enhancing Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Awareness of Communities in Taysan and Anislag Resettlement Sites by Beryl Baybay. This book was made possible through the ProVention Consortium Applied Research Grants for Disaster Reduction. It is written in English and is available for 140.00 Php. Delivery charges are not included.

For those interested in purchasing the books, please call 441-0998 and look for Ms. Angel Sales to inquire about the availability of the books. We only have limited stocks of the books so please call first before going to our office.