WATER ON BICOL WEST COAST: MATERIAL AND NON-MATERIAL CULTURERey Dennis L. Gilbas, R.E.E and Sherill A. GilbasAbstract Water is always treated traditionally in its environmental context. It is always regarded as part of the natural sciences and studied in terms of ecological aspects including physical and geographic. In this paper, water is considered as both material and non-material culture of the community. It focused on the anthropological approach that deals with water utilization, valuation and perspectives on water safety of the residents in the municipality of Bulan, Sorsogon. The study used qualitative data gathering through field and direct observations and focus group discussions. Thematic analysis was employed from the informantsâ in-depth interviews. This paper found out that the socio-economic aspect of the community was affected by the availability of water, water use, and how people value water. The population growth, communal activities and climate change affected local residentsâ perspective on water. Hence, water is a material and non-material culture of the community which require a continuous process of adaptation. It is recommended that each resident and various agencies in the local community should have cumulative effort to sustain safe and practical use of water, an indispensable societal culture. |