An Ethnographic Study on Community Development of Talim Island

Abstract

This undergraduate thesis entitled “Ethnographic Study on Talim Island’s Community Development, showed that Talim society as represented by the four barangays covered by the ethnographic study and through the use of researcher devised community development scale, the Local Community Development Gauge Index (LCDG Index), typified a rural community where the existence of underdevelopment is observable and is manifested by the lingering poverty among its constituents. Various social systems that directly and indirectly denote underdevelopment in the community were clearly exhibited in the community. Poverty in its essence and actuality was given a "face™ by this research on Talim Island's community development. People have no regular incomes, and worst of all, their productive resource base is already damage—the Laguna de Bay. Without the productive resource base, where would the people get their living? Poor health conditions are poverty-related situations. Rampant to the community are cases of malnutrition and death due to tuberculosis, termed as “poor people's sickness.” These are preventable diseases yet many people are still being victimized on the account of their societal condition in the area. Such scenario is being compounded by other factors, such as the lack of effective and institutionalized health system in the community. On the educational system poverty is also manifested. The situation stated above is a manifestation of the people's failure to actively and intelligently participate in the community affairs such as the election. Furthering on the issue of the underdevelopment of Talim Island and its causal factors are the cognitive or “culturally/community shared beliefs and behaviors.” The people have not been totally united in their quest to fight poverty and improve their life. It is of utmost importance that people in all community must transcend barangay interest and more so, personal interest in order for them to develop genuine reform and development. Now comes a challenge of devising antipoverty measures or development strategies that will cater to the needs of the community. Although there were several development plans for the community, but these were not necessarily sound and community friendly. The research through its recommendation recommends the establishment of a development foundation that will cater to the call of development in Talim Islands The challenge really is for development to come or initiate from the grass-root level using local people's participation and natural community's resources both the physical and human resources.