Using downtime for base improvements

As the covid19 pandemic rages on and borders are still closed, it’s been a priority for MCP to try and keep our local staff employed for as long as we are financially able to so they may continue supporting their families. The downtime has been used to make a lot of renovations and base improvements. Former volunteers will be happy to know that thanks to a new water tower and new piping, we now have good water pressure all over base – even when everyone is trying to shower at once. We have built additional toilets and showers, which will help increase safety when we open up again, in terms of fewer people using facilities.

With international volunteers unable to travel, our long-serving Filipino staff — Our maintenance and kitchen teams — took on much of the renovation work themselves, alongside local contractors brought in for specialized jobs like drilling the well for the water tower and various electrical work. For many of them, this meant steady income through some of the hardest months of the pandemic, when jobs elsewhere on the island were scarce. It also meant base improvements were shaped by the people who know it best – built by the same hands that will maintain it for years to come.

Aside from constructing the water tower and showers/toilets many improvements, big and small have been going on. While we’ve not documented the whole process, we did some pictures along the way. Below you have one of the new toilet/shower blocks taking shape.   The bungalows are getting new raised roofs of sak-sak, a locally sourced native long grass that grow in wetlands, as well as new windows, wall cladding and sky lights. All in all the dormitories seem much larger, airier and brighter.

Some of the bigger projects included:

• A new water tower and repiped plumbing, giving good water pressure across base
• Additional toilets and showers to reduce crowding at peak times
• Raised sak-sak roofs on the bungalows for better airflow and cooling
• New windows, wall cladding, and skylights in the dormitories
• Upgraded dive gear storage and rinse stations

Sak-sak was chosen partly for tradition and partly for practicality — it’s a material local builders have used for centuries, and its loose weave lets hot air escape far better than tin roofing, keeping the bungalows noticeably cooler. It’s also carbon neutral, easy to source locally, and re-thatching is a skill many of our staff already had.

These upgrades meant that by the time international volunteers were able to return, MCP Base was in better shape than ever: more spacious, better ventilated, and built to handle more people comfortably (and safely too, which of course is a COVID concern.) What has started as a way to weather the pandemic, will end up leaving a lasting mark on the base itself.