About
A small team in Guiuan building rainwater systems for island schools since 2019.
A teacher, an engineer and a dry week
In 2019 Liza Macabenta was teaching Grade 4 on Calicoan when the school’s only water drum ran dry for a week. Pupils brought water from home in soda bottles; some stopped coming. Her cousin Ramil, a civil engineer, put gutters on one classroom and a borrowed tank under it. It filled in two days.
That first tank became Saluhan. Seven schools now catch their own water, and every one is still running, because we go back twice a year to clean, test and fix.
How a catchment works
Four parts, in the order the rain meets them. Each school gets the same design, sized to its roof and its pupils.
1
Roof and gutters
Rain runs off the classroom roof into gutters and down one pipe.
2
First flush
The first few litres wash dust and leaves off the roof. A capped pipe catches them and keeps them out of the tank.
3
Tank
The clean rain fills a covered tank: 5,000 to 15,000 litres, enough to last a school through the dry weeks.
4
Filter tap
A ceramic filter at the tap takes out what is left, so the water is safe to drink and to wash hands.
The team
Six of us, five in Guiuan and one in Manila, plus about forty volunteers.
Liza Macabenta
Executive director
Taught Grade 4 in Guiuan for twelve years before starting Saluhan.
Ramil Dacuno
Head of building
Civil engineer. Designs every system and signs off every tank.
Joy Cabardo
Schools and volunteers
Works with principals and parents, and runs the build and maintenance days.
Arnel Tiozon
Boats and supplies
Gets cement, tanks and people to the islands, weather permitting.
Mica Gabon
Donors and reports
Answers every donor and writes the yearly report. Based in Manila.
Celso Abenoja
Water testing
Tests every tank twice a year and trains teachers to change filters.