THE VILLAGE’ NIPA SHACK


The urge to use the phrase “My Nipa Hut” that was immortalized in the vernacular’s children’s rhyme known to all Filipinos as title for this article was tempting, for after all, who among us Filipinos, do not know the lyrics of the song?! But on second thought, I realized the phrase was inappropriate for two reasons: (1) because the shack wasn’t mine and (2) the structure was not located in a farm as the song portrayed but on the fringes of the beach!

Let me tell you this story, but first, here is a brief background of this rural structure and its uses.

A nipa shack, otherwise known as “salakot”, is a common structure in the locality. In a farm, it serves as temporary shelter of a farmer as he relieves himself from the noon-day heat, or if seen on roadsides, it serves as waiting sheds for passengers as they wait for the buses or jeepneys whenever they go to town. Roadside structures are generally built through the initiative of Sangguniang Kabataan members who also uses them as places for whiling their time away.

And now for the story.

Last March, Goody Bernaldez, the village know-it-all, approached me and asked if it will be alright if a nipa hut can be installed at our backyard to serve a variety of purposes, the most important of which is that it can be made a waiting place of fishermen who could not immediately venture to the sea and as an idyllic site for healthy-conscious old-timers who want to enjoy the early morning or late afternoon sea breeze during the sunset of their years..

My reply was guarded; I told him we will not object provided it is constructed on the common boundary of our adjacent lots. Specifically, I said that the structure should not have a width measurement exceeding four meters which our lots should equitably share and that it should not block our view of the open sea. He said yes.

Soon the materials composed of nipa, bamboos, rattan, cement and rough lumber were gathered and brought to the site., after which, Goody requested that a matured coconut tree at our lot be felled and converted into coconut lumber to be used as columns and rafters. He followed it up by saying he will provide the cost of converting it into rough lumber. Again I consented.

But actual construction would not start. Goody could not get an available carpenter. And so the missus took over and collared his favorite jack-of-all-trades who was at that time working on a kitchen cabinet in the house and asked him if he could do the job for a fee that will be paid for by the community. He said yes.

A village elder, who is a cousin of the missus, then asked the carpenter how long the construction will last and much will he charge each day”. And the latter replied “three days and two hundred bucks.” The elder then said: “Would you settle for half the amount?” The job, anyway, is a community project. The reply of the carpenter was in the affirmative and so the elder allotted payment for each day’s work due the carpenter to himself, Goody and myself.

Actual construction of the structure went on at feverish pace for three whole days with a few of the fishermen physically assisting bayanihan-style and with the missus providing merienda. Its measurement was rougly four meters square with three sides provided with benches made of bamboo sticks and the fourth side open to allow entrance. The function of the benches, understandably is for sitting although quite often, people can be seen lying on it, with the aging lion and some pet dogs included.

Then the work abruptly ended because materials ran short. And then we went to the metropolis last April.

By end of May, we returned to our den and found that the unfinished structure was still in the same form and condition as when we left it- the culprit, we learned was because contributions grounded to a halt. But the remaining cost no longer entails more than five hundred!!

The missus, however, has no stomach for seeing things left uncompleted. She again collared her favorite jack-of-all trades and ordered him to do the mop-up job and in fine the structure was fully completed thus serving as staging area for the fishermen and ideal resting place for aging village retirees like myself.

And what is the significance of this village shack?

You will soon find out if you will wait a time with patience until this writer is able to compose the articles and have these posted in these wonderful pages of the Internet in your leisurely reading time!!