Having faced typhoons nearly every year, Merlyn* was used to the flooding that came to her community in Catanduanes. Landslides that blocked roads and cut off access to their barangay were something she had lived with for most of her life.
But even after years of weathering storms, Typhoon #UwanPH (international name: Fung-wong) brought destruction unlike anything she had seen before.
And abaca, Merlyn's source of livelihood, would not grow on its own.
At 64, she continues to tend her crops, drying and selling her harvest to support herself, her son who is deaf, and her grandchild who is attending college. She says she is grateful for her son's help with the work.
For P72 per kilo of dried abaca fibers, she sells them to local buyers from nearby provinces that frequent their area. She and her neighbors lay out their dried harvests for sale, and the buyers can look through it before making their purchases. The abaca is then brought to nearby municipalities where it is woven into local handicrafts, like baskets, mats, bags, and fans for which the Bicol region is known.
Abaca production has long been the main source of livelihood for Merlyn and many of her neighbors. They plant new abaca sprouts during the first quarter of the year and harvest them after about a year of growth.
Farming, harvesting, and drying have been their routine year after year; they plant every year, and typhoons ravage Catanduanes and their crops for a season. What was once their constant income every three months was washed out by Uwan in November 2025.
When spillways and dikes overflow, rainwater and seawater flood the barangay, often leaving her house submerged for days.
When access to the community improved in February 2026, Save the Children, with support from Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, was finally able to reach families and continue helping them recover. Merlyn was among the 123 households that received P10,000 each through the multi-purpose cash assistance.
Along with the financial aid, the child rights organization discussed how families could use the assistance to support their recovery, including investing in alternative sources of income or helping restore their abaca farms. For many families, it also helped in buying their children’s lost school supplies for their return to school.
Through the project's partnership with the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority, Merlyn and other farmers in the community also received training on safe abaca farming practices. They took refresher sessions on proper planting distances, growth timelines, and pest management to help protect their yields.
Since her crops were still recovering from Uwan, she made use of her support from Save the Children to explore alternative livelihood means, apart from her family’s initial needs at the time. She was able to obtain bitter gourd seedlings and a sow for the start of a piggery.
Unfortunately, the recent extreme heat and limited access to clean water in her barangay caused her bitter gourd crop to wither. Since then, she has focused on caring for herself, her son, their pig, and their small flock of chickens.
Months after Typhoon Uwan damaged their community, Merlyn is still working to recover; her abaca crops will continue to grow again, too. She remains focused on caring for her family, her livestock, and her livelihood.