Reconstruction with local architecture, Panay Island, Philippines, 2014 - 2017,: Capitalizing on experiences from two shelter projects in the aftermath of super typhoon Haiyan

Abstract

International audienceOver the past 15 years, a number of housing projects undertaken in post-disaster situations have adopted a “local building cultures” approach to efficiently support the initiatives of affected populations, regardless of their location or origin.This becomes even more pertinent when working in rural areas where, often, populations benefit from the ancestral experience of living in their lands and so, possess a rich knowledge of theirenvironment and traditional housing, and of their strengths and weaknesses facing natural hazards.Both reconstruction projects presented in this booklet, undertaken in the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda, are a good illustration of this potential. Moreover, they highlight how such an approach favors the establishment (or rather the re-establishment) of resilience within local communities while also offering a vision for local development and well-being in continuity with the local culture, a principle deemed as strongly valuable within the international humanitarian community as a whole