Bamboo Community Center Rising In Malungon

Light and airy.

Cool.

Maaliwalas.

This is what a bamboo house is like. And light, airy, cool, and maaliwalas is what the main building at the Kerith Ravine Retreat and Community Resource Center in Malungon, Sarangani Province will be like.  The 234-square meter structure, made mostly of bamboo, is expected to be completed by July this year.

Designed by Architect Rosario Encarnacion Tan, the building is stilted or raised from the ground. Seventy percent of the silong or ground floor will be left open.  The silong will house a clinic, bathrooms, a pharmacy and a water station.  A worship hall with a 160-seating capacity, a library, an office and a classroom will be on the second floor.

Twenty-three men composed of  five B'laan men, ten former street dwellers from Manila, and ten members of the Malungon community are working on the building. Before construction work began, workshops were held to train them on bamboo harvesting, treatment, and storage; bamboo growing and propagation; and bamboo design and construction.

Just-harvested  bamboo poles are made to absorb a borax
solution to prevent termite infestation
and the growth of mold.

 The bamboo used for the building is harvested from clumps of bamboo growing abundantly on the 77-hectare CCT property. It is treated on site.  The roof will be of cogon grass which also grows profusely in the province. 

CCT ministers to the B'laan community in Malungon to help transform and empower them to reach their potential as human beings created in the image and likeness of God. Aside from the building of the community center, ongoing projects include organizing of leaders, livelihood training, discipleship classes, and the feeding of children.