Earth Hour: Switch off for bancas for fishers

More than just switching off lights, Earth Hour will go beyond its 60-minute environmental conservation campaign and raise funds to help fisherfolk who lost their livelihood to Super Typhoon Yolanda.

The goal of the “Bancas for the Philippines” project is to raise $24,000 before this year’s Earth Hour slated on March 29 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Earth Hour campaign of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) urges individuals, communities and businesses to switch off their nonessential lights as a symbol of their commitment to the conservation of the planet.

A related Earth Hour Blue campaign also hopes to raise funds from online supporters for various initiatives, among them the donation of bancas made of fiberglass to Yolanda-afflicted coastal communities. The projects are listed at https://earthhourblue.crowdonomic.com.

It is estimated there were around 145,000 fisherfolk whose livelihood was affected by the typhoon.

After the fundraising, there will be an initial donation of 60 boats to be given by mid-April, according to WWF-Philippines.

Aside from the boat donation, WWF-Philippines will teach fisherfolk in coastal communities how to mold their own fiberglass boats.

Fiberglass, a petroleum-based product, consists of glass in a form of resin which is mixed with a reinforcement material, is said to be cheaper and stronger than wood for boat-making in the long run.

“It also eliminates the [use of] wood because wood is already a problem in terms of resources,” fiberglass boat designer Juny Binamira said. Pilot sites for training people in boat-molding would be Palawan and Leyte.