Life from abroad

The bucket:

In the Philippines as in many Asian countries they use a bucket of water and scooper for showers and instead of toilet paper. At first I was a little leery about using the bucket for showering but after continually getting doused with cold water showers I switched over to the minimalist approach of bucketing. It’s great! No more jumping and cringing when in the shower. Well less of it anyway. I can now take a shower with about 5 scoops or 5 liters of water.

Usually you will find a bucket full of water in the CR (bathroom) and a small scooper. From this bucket the water is meant to be used for all bathroom activities. The bathing part is described above which one can pretty much visualize. But the one that really got me when I arrived was using the bucket instead of toilet paper. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. That was until my first bout of food poisoning here. With that came sitting on the toilet maybe 4 times an hour and the constant wiping that lead to a sore bum. It was only then that I used the scooper; it was tooshy heaven!

Okay, here’s the technique: Beginners should start out with the soap glove method. This was what brought me around. First do your business and get a scooper ready. After you’re done, squat and angle yourself so you can pour the water right down your back crouch. This will be the initial wash and loosen everything up. Now refill the scooper and get some soap. With the left hand, get it all nice and soapy, and the right grab the scooper to do the second pour. As you are pouring the scooper scrub with the soap glove everywhere you would with toilet paper. This will make sure you get everything nice a clean.

Now I know what you’re thinking; gross! But really stop and think about it… How many times have you used toilet paper and missed, getting your fingers all smelly? Come on, I know it has happened to me a lot so it has to be a somewhat common occurrence in the general population of toilet paper users. Ok, now that you have admitted it to yourself, what do you do after that? Wash your hands. Yes, and then all is squeaky clean and smells good. So why wouldn’t you want to do the same for your butt after pooping instead of waiting for your daily shower?

So you have just used your soap glove and washed with the scooper. Now you’re a little damp and the seat a little wet but that’s okay because you’re clean! Just stand up and drip dry for a second or so, pull up your pants and wash your hands. Good? So now you know how to use the scooper on the toilet and in the shower. This is valuable information if you suddenly have to go and have no toilet paper, which seems to happen all too often here. As you gain experience you can move on to the more advanced techniques of scooping which use even less water and get you in and out even quicker.

• Leave a comment... 89(0)http://www.robrasa.com/hisblog/2005/89Why%27s+a+trashcan+in+the+shower%3F2005-05-18+08%3A11%3A00robjkentjr

I recently had an argument with another Peace Corps Volunteer over an idea I have been kicking around. The interior of Negros Island is a vast mountainous terrain with one major road cutting across it. Within this there is an indigenous tribe that lives in Carol-An and has traditional land rights. Think of an Indian Reservation in the states. Carol-An is about 35km from the main road via a well traveled dirt road that winds its way up and over the mountain range. It’s about a 2 hour trip so from Kabankalan City and well off the common tourist route between Dumaguete and Bacolod.

My idea is this: I proposed that the tribe continue its hunting of pigs with spears as a way to promote tourism and preserve their culture. They would do this by starting out with the common domestic pig that was introduced into the wild. Tourists would then pay some amount to go on a hunting expedition and through this pay for transport, guides, porters, accommodation, hunting license and a conservation fee to the locals tending the free-range pigs. Everyone wins except the pig but to taste the Lechon Baboy (rotisserie pig) after would allay your worries. The key to this idea is that the price to do this would be high enough to limit the hunt to about 12 per year. This idea is modeled on the approach that the country of Bhutan takes; High Value, Low Impact tourism.

An added benefit to this is that the tribe can continue to practice and take pride in its distinct culture. Now, many of the younger generation want to go to university and move to Manila to have a ‘better’ life. They don’t want to eek out a survival harvesting peanuts and cabbage. But with an influx of tourist dollars people would see a reason to take the time and invest in continuing the art of making weapons, practicing their traditional songs and dance (for the celebratory pig roasting after the hunt) and other handicrafts that could be sold. It also gives people an incentive to stay and continue practicing these traditions.

The argument came up over the next phase of this idea: re-introducing the native warty pig back into the ecosystem. This is a critically endangered animal that is pretty much confined to a local zoo in Bacolod. Once the idea of hunting the domestic pig caught on I would like to have the native pig take its place as the target of choice for the hunt. Sounds cruel, I know, but I think it can work to improve the numbers of wild native pigs. Again I base this on similar examples being carried out. One in particular, the hunting of bighorn rams in Mexico has really been my rallying cry but there are many examples of this being done in a conservation friendly way.

The premise is based on the fact that the caretakers in the chosen area will learn to look after and protect the wild warty pig because for each one that is taken in a sanctioned hunt means money in the pocket of the caretaker. This gives him a direct monetary interest in seeing that the pig survives and flourishes. The international CITES regulations do offer ways of getting around an all out ban on hunting but it would be difficult to do in the context of Pilipino red tape. But since Carol-An has native land rights they might be able to bypass all this and put into action a reasonable conservation plan. Can it happen in the year I have left here? I extremely doubt it but it has been an interesting thought exercise none the less.

• Leave a comment... 88(0)http://www.robrasa.com/hisblog/2005/88Hunting+endangered+pigs2005-05-17+08%3A57%3A00robjkentjr