Filipino Living in a Modern Bahay Kubo
Within the UP Los Banos campus is a 63-year-old bamboo house for a big family.
Through the years, the bahay kubo or nipa hut has become a symbol of Philippine culture and traditions. It is also an ideal choice for homeowners because it is warm, inviting, and reminds one of the simpler days gone by. These are the things that the Calma-Lazaros love best about their own bamboo house.
Isolina Calma decided to build the bamboo house on an 800sqm lot inside the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) campus in 1951. Isolina’s creativity and hard work resulted in a comfortable home that she lived in with her husband and UPLB professor Dr. Valeriano Calma and their eight children. One of their children, Josephine, now lives in this home. Apart from Josephine’s 20 grandchildren, guests of the University and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) also visit the space often.
Original article by Katherine Lopez. Pictorial direction by Issa Villar. Photographed by Miguel Nacianceno.
Read “Tales of a Bamboo House” in the July 2011 issue of Real Living Magazine. To download a digital copy of Real Living Magazine, visit Summit Newsstand at https://summitnewsstand.com.ph/real-living.
