Ligtas Agtas: A sustainable and disaster-ready resettlement area for the Agta Community in Sitio Pulang Lupa

Abstract

Most indigenous peoples experience homelessness in the Philippines. This is the case for Mount Kalbo's indigenous tribe, the Agta Community. They face the challenges of dealing with mass wasting disasters potentially devastating their houses and compromising the lives of their families. It is with high hopes that they will be resettled to Sitio Pulang Lupa to rebuild a community, in which this research aims to propose and develop. The proposed resettlement's goal is to improve and sustain the Agtas' living conditions in Sitio Pulang Lupa by addressing the unstable slopes and preparing the community to cope with mass wasting disasters. Sitio Pulang Lupa is analyzed compared to Mount Kalbo regarding its advantages of keeping the resettlement sustainable and safe from mass wasting. The resettlement merges the Agtas' necessities to achieve the research's objectives, which are improved living conditions, cultural representation, and disaster preparedness into one landscape development in Sitio Pulang Lupa. The resettlement comprises of spaces and facilities that reflect their cultural practices and their needs. Disaster management protocols were also formulated by mapping safe routes, and refuge landscapes to equip the Agtas with preparedness in case disaster occurs. To sustain the vision for the Agtas, soil conditions are firstly addressed by using contour planting. It was used as slope protection and to over-all enhance the environmental quality of the Agtas' resettlement area. The resettlement as a whole shall be able to meet the research's goal of proposing a landscape development that mitigates the mass wasting threats experienced by the Agtas, and improves their living conditions. Having said that, Agtas shall finally feel safe and secured in their own homes.