Philippines Summer 2009/ First Batch of Photos

As many of you know I've spent the last month in the Philippines, with Gawad Kalinga in the Bicol- Cam Sur region. I'm back in Manila now, spending the remainder of my time in the Philippines with my parents.

Typically I like to let photos speak for themselves, but many of these photos wouldn't do the subject matter justice without proper context. Feedback and comments are always welcome. Enjoy! Note: the photos may appear slightly different depending on your screen settings. Please provide feedback if photos look washed out/ over saturated/ desaturated ect.

For full sized images & slide show option visit my flickr!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cldels/sets/72157621629354289/

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These first three photos were just random shoots from my second day in Manila, taken at Alvin's Uncle Sub-Division.







GK Regional Office in Naga City, Bicol.


The regional office monitors all the GK sites in Camarines Sur. Each line is a different site, along with the relevant statistics. In total CamSur has about 30-40 GK sites, totalling 1,500+ GK houses/units completed.


Our first GK Site, Bongliw. A young site and small site, only 10 houses with the community only occupying the units for four months.


On our first day at the GK site we traveled by motorcycle to GK sites in the nearby area. One site was in a beautiful location in the mountains.






Although each GK house is standardized at 20 square meters--which is smaller then most people's living rooms--there is something dignified about the way each GK house stands.


Another GK site was just a few meters away from the ocean.


Bongliw: Rarely will any GK site be in the 'completed' stage. Most GK sites have several units completed, with several more units in the slow process of being built. The intention is to slowly build the community in size, rather then a sudden and large influx of houses and families. Bongliw had ten completed units, with 8 more units ongoing.










CamSur is the rice belt of the Philippines. Most, if not all the GK sites we visited were only a few meters away from any rice fields. With the right light, and at the right time, the reflection of the water gave the impression of two Philippine skies.










For full sized images & slide show option visit my flickr!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cldels/sets/72157621629354289/