the waterworld island Dawahon part 2

continued from the waterworld island of Danahon, part 1 in colloidfarl.blogspot.com

It was my second time in Dawahon. I was there three or four years ago but did not really get off from the boat as time was not on our side. This time though we left quite early at 7:30AM so by about 10:30, we already were pulling into the small speck of an island.

the clear emerald and aqua waters in Dawahon


With seaweed cultivation in full swing this summer, the island looks like Leyte’s version of the water world. Farm houses and drying platforms of various make and sizes, from small bamboo affairs not more than 20 meter square to large 400 square meter platforms made of concrete have mushroomed around the periphery that Dawahon probably has grown twice in land area. Such is reclamation Dawahon-style.


Dawahon’s only “highway” which connects the two sitio’s or villages


Dawahon has no groundwater source so rain water is collected in receptacles like these giant concrete jars. Potable water is available from a local desalination plant set up by an entrepreneur.


Dawahon, the island is quite dense. Officially a barangay of Bato, Leyte, it has a population of 2,000 spread over 2 villages or sitios, namely Fatima and Sto Nino. Each sitio has its own chapel (which means a different fiesta for each) and basketball court (which makes intra-island games possible).


The chapel of Sitio Fatima at the western end of the highway


A short tour around the island definitely reveals that its main source of livelihood is seaweed. Fishing now has become a secondary industry. In every corner, seaweed is either being dried, tied, cleaned or weighed. These are well and good. It means that I have all the reasons to come back.


a typical bamboo platform for seaweed collection and drying in Dawahon


seaweed harvest is transported from the farms to the platforms in motorized boats

the waterworld island Dawahon part 1

As if getting back from a week-long business travel from Indonesia was easy, last week, I had to make a day trip over the expansive bank of Dawahon. The reef is one of the most extensive in the Visayas, spanning from where the Olango Channel of Cebu ends, stretching over a good part of Northern Bohol and edging into Canigaso Channel of Ormoc Bay of Leyte.


the Dawahon reef at Leyte’s side


the flecks are seaweed farmhouses not islets


Dawahon was ground zero in the cultivation of carrageenan-bearing seaweed in the Visayas in the 1980s. Production was primarily centered on the two types of guso seaweed: spinosum and cottonii. Production has since increased and experienced peaks and lows. Today, the reef could net at least 7,000 dry metric tons on an annual basis.


the island appears twice its size because of the burgeoning number of seaweed drying platforms around the island


Dawahon island up close


For the species known as spinosum, the title of top producer flits between two small islands in the eastern tip of the reef: Hingutanan which is a part of Bien Unido, Bohol and the island immediately east of it, Dawahon which is already part of Leyte.


entering Dawahon Island


To get there from Cebu, the best route is to head to Buot pier in Punta Engano, Mactan Island, where numerous boats could be hired. We recently tried the professional boat operator Eris which has an office right at entrance of the port and their rates were quite competitive. As our destination would be the island of Danahon which is at least 50 kilometers away, we decided on their fastest boat which is already a fairly sized boat that can take in 20 people comfortably.


docking into the island can be tricky


The trip took us some 3 hours across perfectly still waters and under unbelievably sunny and clear skies. The conditions have been ideal in the past week or so and we picked a fine day for the trip.


a typical seaweed drying platform, one of about more than a hundred surrounding the small island


Next: Inside the island