Resilience Building in Tonga - Fofola e fala ka e alea e kāinga ^Featured

More than 75% of the population was affected by TC Gita in 2008 and again earlier this year with TC Harold.

While some families are still recovering from TC Gita, the effects of TC Harold further exacerbated their levels of risk, either to their homes, themselves, their environment or their food security and income.

Most people whose home were affected were left with very little options in terms of rebuilding when insurance is not a common practice here in the Kingdom.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a member of the Humanitarian cluster sought a long-term vision towards recovery and enhanced coping methods or resilience for targeted communities.

Under UNDP the Disaster Resilience for Pacific Small Island Developing States (RESPAC) project in collaboration with the Government of Tonga, National Emergency Management Office, Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications (MEIDECC), the Tonga National Youth Congress (TNYC) and the Mainstreaming of Rural Development Innovation (MORDI) Tonga Trust set out to support early recovery activities.

The Hybrid Fale project was a result of the RESPAC project assisting with the transitional period when people whose houses are affected by the cyclones are given tents or tarpaulins to aid in the transitional period until a more permanent solution is offered by the Government.

However, due to the increasing number of the population and cost of rebuilding, it is more difficult to roll out transitional housing than that after TC Isaac in 1982 and with the more complicated rebuilding of TC Ian in 2014.

The idea of the hybrid transition faleTonga is to allow for the at risk population who are usually the poorer of the population to have access to a transitional shelter alternative. According to Mr Leveni ‘Aho, this bridges the gap in immediate shelter relief and reconstruction.

The affected can easily salvage material from their own house or fallen trees and other building material around them. With the hybrid faleTonga, it is a mixture of traditional material and modern material or material that is usually available from the donors after events such as nails and tarpaulins.

The merging of traditional and modern material can build a stronger transitional hybrid faleTonga that is more weather friendly than an enclosed tent in the heat of the Tongan sun and humidity.

The training was lead by Mr Leveni ‘Aho as consulting architect for the UNDP and is no stranger to disaster management as the former Director of the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO).

The training was of 25 participants taken from all over Tonga including the outer islands, members of the disabled community, youth, women and the elderly all contributed to the training which was held at the hall of the Free Constitution Church of Tonga in Pahu for the past week and a half.

The expected outcome of the Training on Hybrid transitional Tongan Fale are:

(1) Revived traditional knowledge on building a Transitional Hybrid Fale

(2) Improved knowledge on building resilience using infrastructure traditional knowledge

(3) Improved community resilience on preparedness method of building a hybrid Tongan fale

The training program ends 5 November, with an inspection of the various types of hybrid faleTonga that was proposed by the architect and trained the participants on building.

This program not only benefitted the participants in their knowledge of what types of faleTonga there are in existence but also how to build one in a proper manner with the main parts of the faleTonga described and its purpose defined.

Most of the participants like Ms Sengilama Sime of the Women’s Development Committee from Nakolo, “When cyclones hit, preparation is key and if I can build a low cost faleTonga with salvaged material, sheltering my family from the elements immediately, then I am well prepared for the worst.”

The participants were trained on the three most common types of faleTonga which will be showcased at the closing of the training at the Free Constitution Church of Tonga in Pahu.

This activity has been a pilot for transitional hybrid faleTonga at very low cost to those whose homes were and could be affected it is not a permanent solution nor is it a solution to housing needs in Tonga.

To lower the risks of those that are most vulnerable, they must be offered real solutions that can be met with their own resources and not heavily rely on outside help all the time.

For a resilient community, there should be resilient solutions that are just as accessible.