Gilian Charisse Fronda
Re-thinking a palengke as a food machine that reinforces a secure food trade, encourages social cohesion and ultimately prepares for abundance in Tacloban City.
About
A row of columns and beams under one roof are not just elements of a “building”, but a livelihood for many people, a ‘palengke’ is born. Waking up at midnight to set up a stall in a market, arranging fruits and vegetables ready to be sold, surrounded by the pungent smell of fresh meat and the buzz of selling to locals till it is time to go home is a typical day of a vendor. The community-based interaction between shoppers and vendors inside the marketplace is an important aspect of the palengke culture. However, vendors, especially farmers are facing constant problems through productivity whether that is lack of knowledge of sustainable farming and efficient selling.
Palengkes become a catalyst for women to thrive and utilise their skills not only behind closed doors but showcase it first hand through a small business. However, with public markets in the Philippines being stereotyped as unsanitary and overcrowded, it becomes a hindrance for progressing women in local entrepreneurship. ‘How can a marketplace solidify the importance of a women’s identity in a competitive society?’
This design research project breaks this ideology and offers valuable opportunities worth more than simply selling produce, that an agricultural community can become a collective intervention emphasising the “pagkakaisa ng Taclobanons”, Tacloban locals as one.
Unity, 'Pagkakaisa ng Tacloban'
The Organic Strip Strategy, Design for Displacement
Our unit this year focuses on designing for displaced people in Tacloban, Philippines, not just in temporary state but in considered social living, livelihood, craft and culture. Through our research, we discovered that agriculture is one of the first sectors to fall after a disaster, and it is declining at a concerning rate. However, several projects over the world have proven that tackling agriculture in the context of a disaster prone city, leads to opportunities that could positively impact communities on a wide scale. Hence, as a group of four, we decided to investigate this sector to understand the extent to which agriculture can contribute to the resiliency of Tacloban. Thank you for watching our video!