Construction of a Water System & Solar Dryer Court September 1995 - May 1996 Nagas, Tiwi, Albay, Philippines Funded by: Infrastructure Development Institute (Japan) Implemented by: ICA Philippines, ICA Japan and local people
In Nagas, a village of about 3,000 population, a water resource tank provided water for people living downstream along the national highway, where they used it for laundering, cooking and others. However, the resource tank was too small for all the residents to get water, and the water was polluted because the tank was not deep enough. We destroyed the old tank and built a new one, which is deeper and bigger. ICA also has built a solar dryer for rice in the village since farmers spread out rice on the highway to dry it after harvest. The cemented area also serves as a recreation facility for the community - basketball, dance, etc. - when it is not in use for rice drying.
	1. Nagas lies along the coast facing the Pacific Ocean. Backgrounding it is a green and forested mountain of Mayon. Fishing and farming are the main sources of earning a living in this village.
Local conditions in Nagas
	2. Nagas is a village located in Tiwi Albay, 550 km from Manila. It's income base is from agriculture which is predominantly rice production and women weaving handcrafts. The total population of Nagas is 2,812. The average family size is 6 members per family.
	3. In September Nagas village has the most pleasant autumn with seasonal festivals. The beautiful Nagas village has inconvenient communication and transportation systems. The nearest telephone is ten kilometers away in the neighboring village of Tabaco.
	4. Transportation in Nagas consists of large jeepneys and three-wheel taxis, but these are irregular.
	5. The children often the local store along the national highway.
	6. This is the one of the village meeting places where people gather together under a straw thatched roof. Yukiko Kawahara of ICA Japan (right) is explaining the project plan to villagers at the village assembly.
Water Tank Construction
Diagram: The water resource tank was built upstream in the riverbed. Spring water enters through the open bottom of the tank. The water flows downhill not by using an electric pump, but by the force of gravity, technology appropriate to such an isolated village.
	7. This is the old water collection and storage tank. It supplied water to a small tin water tank in the village. This tank was too small and the water was polluted because the tank was not deep enough.
	8. In order to get fresh and enough water, we destroyed the old tank and rebuilt a new tank in its place. The tank is located 350 meters away from the village houses.
	9. People start to dig to build the new water tank. Workers are building the reinforced steel frame and plywood form into which concrete will be poured.
	10. The concrete tank will be 1.5 times larger than before. It has no bottom so that spring water can enter the tank.
	11. The cement in the wooden frame is not disturbed until it hardens.
	12. The top cement lid is being poured; soon the water resource tank will be completed.
	13. The completed water resource tank (2.09m x 2.66m x 1.5m).
	14. The water resource tank was built upstream in the riverbed. The water flows downhill not by using an electric pump, but by the force of gravity through uneven land, piped along the private farmers houses to the delivery tank.
	15. The pipeline is 350 meter long with diminishing diameter from 2 inch to 1.5inch, 1 inch, and finally 3/4 inch. The water resource tank can be seen at the top of this photo.
Water Tank Construction
	16. The pre-existing tin water tank. This small tank served 90 people in15 households with water for laundering, cooking and others purposes. It was far too small to supply sufficient water.
	17. For maximum convenience, the villagers decided to build the new tank next to the bus stop, 10 meters away from the old tank.
	18. They began by digging to 90 cm into the ground. It is half underground for stability, to keep the water cool, and to allow any particles in the water to settle. This concrete tank will be167 cm long, 135 cm wide, and180 cm high.
	19. The inside frame to support the construction of the concrete tank.
	20. The underground concrete tank after the frame was taken out.
	21. A village worker is making a concrete lid on the underground portion of the water tank.
	22. Completed lid of the underground tank. The hole in the middle of the concrete floor is for cleaning the lower tank.
	23. The local staff are preparing wooden frame for the upper concrete tank making.
	24. The wooden frame for the tank's roof is almost ready to pour concrete on.
	25. The completed water tank. This water tank is wide and has 3 faucets, so many people can use it at once. There are many stones in the ground below the faucets for easy drainage. The drain water is flows back to the nearby river.
Recovery From Typhoon Damage
	26. On November 2nd, the Bicol area was hit by a very strong typhoon. It damaged 6 bridges, 500,000 people were evacuated, 588 died, and 2,751 were injuried. The water flow was changed by the typhoon, and the tank's water level went down.
	27. Earth and sand was moved with a bulldozer so the water would once again flow near the water resource tank and the water level returned to normal.
	28. In the Nagas area, no one lost their life, but fields, roads and homes were heavily damaged. This caused the project to be delayed while villagers struggled to recover from the damage.
	29. In this photo ICA staff Mr. Yamane is handing an emergency disaster relief donation to the Mayor of Nagas.
Solar Dryer Construction
	30. In the Nagas area, during the harvest season farmers had much difficulty in finding a suitable place to dry their palay (rice). Farmers hired jeeps or three-wheel cars to bring their harvest to a distant place for drying, but cost for transportation was a big problem.
	31. The farmers often resorted to spreading the palay (rice) on the highway, which is very dangerous. Many small stones from the road became mixed with the rice which decreased the quality of the rice and reduced its market value.
	32. The solar drying of rice is most important for the Nagas farmers, so this project was started to make a large concrete surface suitable for rice drying.
	33. The location chosen for the concrete solar rice drying area is located next to the warehouse and rice mill. The land was not suitable for a rice field because it was only 500 square meters.
	34. Foundation work for the concrete pavement: spreading stones in wooden frames.
	35. The concrete was mixed in a portable mixer and poured by hand usng a wheelbarrow.
	36. Measuring 15 x 28 meters, with a thickness of 4 inches, the solar dryer required 336 bags of cement.
	37. The completed solar dryer has a capacity of drying 4,000-5,000 Kg. of rice per day.
	38. In the Nagas area, farmers harvest twice a year, so this dryer can be used 6-8 months a year. Villagers assigned a supervisior to arrange the schedule for each farmer's usage. Money will be collected for maintenance.
	39. When it is not in use for rice drying, the cemented area will serve as a recreation facility for the community, espcially for children and youth. Villagers will play basketball, hold community assemblies, and enjoy socials such as dancing and festivals in this area.

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