Many people I know with blogs complain that they suffer “blogger’s block” and are often stymied in finding something to write about.  Some have told me they wanted to start their own blogs but are worreid about that ‘nothing to write about’ problem.

Well when it comes to writing about the Philippines I just can’t see that happening.  In fact try as I might my “to Be Written/Published” folder just keeps getting thicker and thicker.

Case in point

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Ninth Ward House that suits the weather

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Make it Right New Orleans is a web site that documents some intelligent projects to help the city of New Orleans rebuild intelligently.  Especially the devastated Ninth Ward.  Trent Lott’s expensive beach front home got rebuilt with government assistance but you won’t see George Bush on the front steps of any houses in the Ninth Ward … they might throw more than a shoe at him.

You won’t find anyhting there from FEMA or the other essentially “do nothing” government agencies, but from celebreties and regular people helping people. Folks who aren’t caught in the ‘We can’t do anything until the government does something” web of iuaction.

So what’s the Philippine connection here?  Easy.  New Orleans is hot, low-lying and in areas like the Ninth Ward has a lot of poor people and very small lots.

The houses there previously were to a large extent very unsuitable to the climate and flood-prone conditions.  Just the same as I see in a great many Philippoine communities.

Notice the example house I picked out.  It’s built off the gropund so minort floods won’t devastate the occupants.  It’s built with a roof that’s carefully tailored to combat the heat of the sun.  It’s got a roof section ideal for solar panbels. either hot water, electric power ort both.  And it’s small and suited for a small lot instead of trying to cram a larger s[rawling house on to a tiny loy just because peopel think square feet of flooor area is the only value parameter of a home.

If you are thinking about building a house, or helping some family memeber build here in the Philippines you would do well to visit Make It Right New Orleans and at the least let some of the design ideas sink in.

It won’t be easy to build a similar house here in the Philippines becuase Philippine builders are even more resitant to change than US bulders … always building for the last century … but many worthwhile things are not easy at the beginning.

Don’t contribute to the problems of the Philippines and the rest of the world by building yet another little block house on a slab with a flat tin roof that just bakes in the sun.

It really costs very little extra to “Make It Right” and doing so will pay lifetime dividends. in the US or in the Philippines.

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