A study on personal and home hygiene and safe water storage in the Phillippines
The paper is here www.irc.nl/.../Capistrano_PCWS_Study%20on%20personal%20and%20home%20hygiene.doc
The paper studies the Bicol ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicolano_people) and Waray http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waray_people) people- indigenous people of the Phillippines.
The sun as a disinfectant- people bask in the sun, let in sunlight through windows.
Family centred home hygiene, sweeping the home regularly, hanging flowers in windows.
House raised with plinth to allow flood waters to pass.
Houses built with local grass and thatch, easy to rebuild after typhoon and earthquake, no hazard of heavy roofs falling and killing people.
Courtyards are swept daily and certain fallen dry leaves burnt in a corner daily to dry away mosquitoes and bugs from the home/house. The smoke also induces flowering and fruiting of certain trees.
Home hygiene is about mental and emotional hygiene. Home with harmonious relationships i very, very important. 3 generations usually live is such homes and still live harmoniously.
Taking bath, hand washing, brushing teeth, cleaning beds, getting a massage from other family members , clean sanitation.
Personal hygiene means keeping the mind and emotions clean...wonderful :)
Hand washing is a ritual since people eat with hands (rice,fish et al) and the eldest washes hands first , followed by younger people.
Local fruit is used as soap to remove smell of fish from hand and to remove bacteria too.
The food requires a lot of souring to cook fish which comes from the native fruits.
For dental hygiene guava leaves are boiled in water and used as mouth wash. Salt is also used to clean teeth plus as a gargle.
Coconut oil is used for hair growth and moisturise the skin.
Recommendations
1. Document home hygiene practices of other indigenous people and knowledge.
2. Build upon local knowledge and hygiene practices of indigenous people
3. Promote partnership between local people,local knowledge,NGO's, govt. to take forward WASH practices amongst indigenous people.
They have some great tips on hygiene. I always figured the typical amount of sun that we receive on a daily basis wasn't really enough to sanitize our bodies.
ReplyDeleteAdult Incontinence Products