Batanes Province Project on the Construction of Ivatan Houses in Basco, with Related Publications

Batanes Province Project on the Construction of Ivatan Houses in Basco, with Related Publications

Project Director:  Raymond Girard R. Tan
Funding Agency:  National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)

The study is being conducted in view of Batanes being one of the few remaining frontiers of the Philippines. Modernization and changing lifestyles in the province have become a threat to the history, culture and heritage of its inhabitants, the Ivatan. The project thus seeks to help preserve the Ivatans’ unique approach to vernacular house and boat building, primarily by producing a homeowner’s manual on maintaining and preserving such houses; by conducting research to develop and publish instructional materials on the construction of Batanes’ indigenous sea vessels, with accompanying video documentation; by conducting research toward the publication of a coffee table book on the origins, evolution and future of Ivatan vernacular houses; and by recreating one Ivatan house in Basco, Batanes, with accompanying video documentation.

Key words:  Basco, Batanes, Ivatan history and culture, vernacular houses, boat building