Aside from discovering Bicol Region's disaster management practices as seen on my previous post you didn't think we'd let a chance to unwind go out of our hands right? So despite our tight schedule, we managed to bring in some fun stuff. So here are some of the other things we got to do in Bicol!

First, we got to eat all these delicious delicacies. These particular ones above were prepared when we went to Brgy. Bagong Silang 1 in Camarines Norte. What's even better is that they were served with fresh watermelons and coconuts which they just picked from the yard.

Last May, I was given a chance to join a trip to Bicol Region to take a look at the different practices that they have for Disaster Risk and Reduction Management.The region is known for (aside from the mouth-watering Bicol Express and Pili nuts and housing the famous- for its perfect cone-although not anymore, Mayon Volcano)  its good practices in involving the whole community in DRRM planning addressing individual and community safety including their livelihood and post-disaster adjustments.

During our visit, we were able to look at several practices which I deem as something which could be and should be practiced by other provinces as well.

1) They provide means for the laymen to learn more about and prepare for disasters

Remember our art projects back in grade school where the teacher asks us to make cute little dioramas of our dream place? Well, Bicol region have their own, not-so-grade-school, version of that. They have their own 3D Maps (Diorama like maps) which provides different kinds of information like location of houses (including the type of house), establishments, evacuation centers, rivers, etc., observed flooding, areas susceptible to landslides, roads, and even a scale for the elevation of the area (certainly way way better than our art projects). Not only is this easy to use and understand but is also very accessible to people (according to some officials, mountaineers even visit the map to see the route which they would be taking).