A decade after Haiyan: What’s next for ICSC in Eastern Visayas?
by Niña Nicole Cerilla EDITOR’S NOTE: Nini is a climate policy analyst of ICSC. Tacloban City holds a core memory for Filipinos who lived through 2013: that year, the most catastrophic typhoon in Philippine history, Typhoon Haiyan (locally known as Yolanda), struck many communities in the Philippines, hitting first the Eastern Visayas region. At 14 years old and living 400 miles away from Tacloban, I still remember seeing the thousands of victims cry for help as I watched the news behind the TV screen. Haiyan’s destructive waves and winds disrupted more than 16 million lives in Eastern, Western, and [...]
Solar Scholars: RE is crucial investment for communities
This piece was written by ICSC Communications Officer Anton Onato, based on interviews conducted by ICSC Innovations Officer Glinly Alvero among participants of the Solar Scholars training in Labo, Camarines Norte on June 27-28. The event was organized by ICSC, Synergy Pilipinas, Labo Progressive Multi-Purpose Cooperative, and the local government of Labo, Camarines Norte.
Tacloban steers local climate solutions 9 years after Haiyan
TACLOBAN CITY, 11 November 2022 – Taclobanons continue to power their communities with portable solar energy systems, strengthening their climate and disaster resilience nine years after Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) hit the city. Barangay officials and electricians, government trainers, and humanitarian workers assembled seven portable solar-powered devices or TekPaks as part of the three-day Solar Scholars training carried out by Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) RE-Charge Pilipinas and the Philippine Red Cross Leyte chapter at the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Region 8 training center from November 8 to 10. Photo (c) Ira Guerrero/ICSC [...]
Empower the children and youth to act on climate change
by Ira Dominique Guerrero | July 13, 2022 | Published by Inquirer.net | READ THE ABRIDGED VERSION HERE “When I came to think of my life in those days, considering my youth then, I am surprised how I stood it all,” Gregoria (“Oriang”) de Jesus, the nation’s ultimate Lakambini and Katipunera, wrote in her autobiography.Oriang was no stranger to hardships in her youth, but she had no fear of facing danger. She learned "how to ride, to shoot a rifle, and to manipulate other weapons” and she "accompanied soldiers in the battle, impelled" by the desire "to see unfurled the [...]
HIPPE Solar Scholars Training: Enabling communities to use RE in disaster risk reduction
With just three days before Filipinos choose the country’s next leaders, Solar Scholars continue to embody the true meaning of community cooperation and leadership through #RenewableEnergy. ICSC’s RE-Charge Pilipinas team, in cooperation with the Hinatuan Partnership for Peoples Empowerment (HIPPE), trained 18 new #SolarScholars less than two weeks before #TyphoonOdette ravaged the Caraga Region and another 29 Solar Scholars in key municipalities and cities in Surigao del Norte more than three months after the Super Typhoon hit. Participants were taught how to assemble, use, and maintain #TekPaks, a solar-powered portable device that can be used by communities [...]