‘Voluntourists’ help rebuild Bohol: Travel agents construct homes for quake-affected families in Cortes town

Travel agents from six different countries in Europe and Asia flew into the country recently to participate in a volunteer build program.

The “voluntourists” helped rebuild Bohol at Habitat for Humanity Philippines site in Cortes town, working on three houses.

Though not used to the heavy labor, once the agents had learnt the basics of construction work, they gladly gave it their all.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) organized the “volunTOURism” campaign to encourage tourists to volunteer an afternoon of their stay to help rebuild Bohol by donating their time to construct homes for families affected  by the Bohol earthquake.

“This is a wonderful campaign, because it not only gives international tourists a chance to experience the many natural wonders of our country, but they also get a chance immerse in our culture and help out a family,” said Charlie Ayco of Habitat.

The 25 square meter homes, specifically designed and built by Habitat, in partnership with different government units and private organizations, are composed of lightweight galvanized steel frame that allows its walls to have a combination of bamboo weaving and wire mesh with cement overlay. The bamboo-cement technology is guaranteed to be decent, sturdy, earthquake and storm resilient.

Habitat partners along with other sectors helped fund construction materials, arrange logistics and hire skilled workers for the project.

The beneficiaries were required to work with Habitat in obtaining locally available materials such as bamboo slats or “lipak” and participating in various construction work like bamboo-weaving or “sigkat”, cement mixing, flooring and painting, among others.

Private individuals were also encouraged to join Habitat in any of its many ongoing programs across the nation.

“We at Habitat envision a world where everybody has a decent place to live,” said Ayco. “We want to achieve this by bringing people together to build homes and give hope to our affected and less fortunate brothers and sisters.”