Have I mentioned in my intro blog that our place doesn't have that water supply system that will cater to the needs of everyone? In our lovely community, we do have our alternative source of water which we call in our local dialect tabay, this is where we get our source of water for our daily consumption.
For today, I will be sharing with you the different purposes of our dipper or tabo in our community as my entry to Asian Hive Community Challenge #42 "Show Me Your Dipper" posted by @justinparke. I would love to show everyone how important a dipper or tabo is in our community.
We have not had a water supply system for many years in our barangay. Our barangay, "Canaocanao" means too close to be seen yet so far to go, is located in one of the mountain barangays in the municipality of Tabogon. One of the Northern towns in the province of Cebu. Many people will mention that our barangay is only a peso fare to reach heaven because it is located at the topmost area. Every day, people in this barangay will go to what we call "tabay" to get water for daily use - for cooking, washing clothes, bathing, or drinking.
💦TABO AS CONTAINER TO GET WATER FROM THE WELL
To get the water, we need to use a dipper or tabo. Our dipper or tabo used is made from cut-out gallons or recycled gallons of paint. The recycled gallon is tied with a rope enough to reach the water level. At the upper portion of the cut gallons, a branch of a tree is placed from end to end part to be used as bases where the rope is tied. This dipper or tabo will serve as a container that will transfer water from the well to any type of container. Most houses in our barangay have this one for this purpose.
💦TABO TO TRANSFER WATER FROM OUR BARRELS
Because we do not have a water supply, mostly we buy barrels to save up water during rainy days. This will help us a lot during summertime. So to transfer water from our barrels, we use the dipper or tabo.
💦TABO FOR SOAP/SHAMPOO ORGANIZER
Going to the well, we usually put our shampoo, soap, toothbrush, and hygiene bath essentials in the tabo. In this sense, we have a dual purpose. We have our dipper for bathing and as an organizer to put the soap/shampoo inside.
💦TABO FOR BATHING
From the well, we also use a dipper or tabo for taking a bath. We used the little dipper in bathing, for the bigger ones will consume a lot of water. A little dipper is placed inside the pale full of water to dip and got some water for bathing.
💦TABO TO BATHE THE PIGS
In our family, we use a dipper or tabo to bathe the pigs. We don't have that much money to buy a water pressure system, so what we did we cut out gallons and make a dipper and use it to bathe the pigs daily.
💦TABO AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR TISSUE WHEN WE POOP
In the Philippines especially in mountain barangays, most people don't use tissue after the poop instead they use the tabo and get some water to clean their butt🤣 because for some tissue is an additional expense.
💦TABO AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR CHAMBER POTS OF URINALS
People usually used things with multiple functions. This dipper or tabo has a lesser price compared to chamber pots or arinola (in the local dialect) that's why some people used tabo instead of buying urinals, especially those who do not have their comfort rooms.
People living in this lovely community give value to our dipper or tabo for it is being used regularly. Without this, we cannot get water from the well which is our main source of water.
Dipper or tabo comes in different sizes and styles which of course play a great role in our daily lives. With the help of the dipper or tabo, it made our life easier and more convenient access to water. Indeed small things matter.
Thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog. That's all for today. See you on my next blog!