BALER, AURORA - In this new episode of Unique Homes, we visit the couple Kenn and Jeff in one of the Philippines’ surfing towns, Baler.
We listen to their heartwarming love story and their journey to living a simple and sustainable life in their gated sanctuary inspired by the Bahay Kubo.
Get ready to witness and enjoy the story of this couple’s provincial living!
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Using the power of video to tell one good story at a time... ONLY GOOD... OG.
OG is Summit Media's video first brand. And like all Summit Media brands, OG is anchored on top-notch storytelling to delight, inspire, and connect with our audiences.
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We listen to their heartwarming love story and their journey to living a simple and sustainable life in their gated sanctuary inspired by the Bahay Kubo.
Get ready to witness and enjoy the story of this couple’s provincial living!
Click here to subscribe to OG:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIj3xiW-RIO2cpr5LBvokRg/?sub_confirmation=1
About OG
Using the power of video to tell one good story at a time... ONLY GOOD... OG.
OG is Summit Media's video first brand. And like all Summit Media brands, OG is anchored on top-notch storytelling to delight, inspire, and connect with our audiences.
We are deliberate in creating content that spread positivity, inspiration, and good vibes. Expect only good here at OG. Subscribe and be part of the community!
Follow us:
https://www.instagram.com/onlygoodchannel/
https://www.facebook.com/OG-106764802137332/
#OG #Uniquehomes
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00What's up, OG? I'm Jeff. Welcome to Duun Baler, our keyless gated sanctuary. Tala!
00:20Hi, my name is Ken Lacinto. I'm 44 years old from Philippines. I'm a campground operator in Canada.
00:27And, hey OG, my name is Jeff. I'm also 44 years old and I'm also a campground operator in Canada, and I am from Canada.
00:37We started coming to Baler in 2013. We had traveled to some other surfing destinations as well.
00:43We visited La Union. We also visited Chiargao.
00:47But there was something about Baler, and not that the locals weren't unfriendly, but just the locals in Baler are just next level.
00:54They're just really stoked on surfing and stoked to have everybody out in the water with them.
01:00Just really laid back. Everyone seems to just love life around here. Everyone's really happy and content and upbeat.
01:07The whole vibe around Baler is unique.
01:10We started coming back year after year. Eventually, we were married right just steps away here on Sapang Beach.
01:18And the opportunity came up to purchase this place, and we couldn't let it go.
01:24We went on a cruise ship in 2010 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
01:34After a year and a half, long distance, just emails because we don't have Skype that time yet.
01:42Yeah, it wasn't a thing yet. I came to visit.
01:452011.
01:47We had a great time. Every year, I started coming back once or twice.
01:51One time, we stayed for six months, and we traveled over to Southeast Asia.
01:56And then all over the Philippines as well.
02:01I got my visa, supposed to be working in Canada that time in 2014, but they denied me.
02:10We ended up getting married here on Sapang Beach, 100 meters away from where we are now.
02:15So the design with Duon Baler, we wanted to keep it very minimalistic, sticking with the provincial life.
02:27We didn't want to overcomplicate things with the build.
02:30We wanted to build something that we could maintain and sustain.
02:35And should any problems arise, we could technically fix them with our own hands.
02:40Another important part of the design was we wanted a lot of open space.
02:43A lot of people design with the intent to bring the outdoors inside.
02:48We wanted to make people go outdoors.
02:51We wanted to have that feeling where you want to be outside.
02:55You don't want to be cooped up inside.
02:57And even the interior of the rooms are minimalistic.
02:59We don't have TVs.
03:01We want you to spend your time outside.
03:03Getting back to the provincial life, bahay kubo is so traditional in the Philippines.
03:08It really exaggerates that provincial life.
03:10So that was our first purchase, was a prefab bahay kubo.
03:15From the get-go, we were having the community involved with the build from the very beginning.
03:21Because there's 16 guys carrying our future home.
03:24So it's like bayanihan in the Philippines.
03:27It's like the culture, the old school culture.
03:29It was pretty neat to see.
03:37Jeff designed our gate.
03:40With the two helpers, the carpenters.
03:43And then we welded it so it's going to have rollers in it.
03:49Yeah, so it's a sliding gate.
03:51It's a sliding gate.
03:53Just a simple design with bamboo because we got a lot of bamboos.
03:58So we have an outdoor dining space.
04:02Jeff and I built that table as well.
04:05It's inspired in our campground as well because we eat outside all the time.
04:10And then our bahay kubo, which is the only air-conditioned in here because it gets so hot.
04:17There's no insulation inside the room.
04:20Of course, with the outdoor area where we like to sit and enjoy morning coffee.
04:25Again, keeping with being outside and airflow, we built an outdoor kitchen.
04:29Fully functional kitchen.
04:31Double gas burner stove.
04:33We have a large sink.
04:35And a full-size fridge.
04:36And then moving to the back of the kubo, we have a three-piece outdoor washroom.
04:43So we have a rain shower.
04:48And then moving towards this way, of course, we have the yoga kubo that's great to just stretch out in.
04:56Read a book.
04:58Relax.
05:00Play music.
05:02And then at night, it turns into a cinema.
05:03So you can jam out to some karaoke, which is a Filipino favorite.
05:10Then as we proceed through the yard, we will be adding some gardens, some vegetable gardens next year.
05:16However, we just didn't have any time to get there this year.
05:29And then in the back, we have the ay kubo.
05:33It's a loft style.
05:47There's two double beds in there, sleeps four adults.
05:57And we've also added a three-piece bathroom on that one.
06:00We made the shower out of bamboo, so kind of funky little bamboo shower.
06:05Toilet back there, and then again in the lavatory.
06:16We have our chicken coop.
06:18And then at the bottom of that, we have our composting.
06:22Garbage is really difficult here in Aurora.
06:24So we're trying to keep our garbage as minimal, minimum as we can.
06:32After all those composts got breaked down, we have our own fertilizer for our plants.
06:44The lot size is 300 square meters.
06:48Our bahay kubo is 10 square meters.
06:53The yoga kubo is 16 square meters.
06:57And our ay kubo is 16 square meters as well.
07:02The majority of the materials are sustainable, so we have wood, bamboo, and nipa.
07:09We did have to incorporate a little bit of concrete, but wherever we could, we wanted to use bamboo, wood, or nipa.
07:16The wood has some issues with bokok, but we tried to minimize that by again using the borax bath.
07:23And then we used the coconut husks to line the path.
07:28Those are just what we got from the beach.
07:32Oh, we have buho.
07:34Jeff and I hand weave it one by one, so it's 1,800 pieces, all in all.
07:42And then this concrete wall that we had, it's supposed to be buho as well, but they have a concrete in here.
07:50So yeah, we just make the design like that. It's easier for us.
07:56And then we also had to bring in 40 dump trucks, 30 of tambak, so a mixture of sand and gravel, to backfill.
08:06And then we topped it with 10 dump trucks of sand, because if you'll notice, the neighbors, they're about a meter below us.
08:14And storm surge, a few of the typhoons, the water has actually come up to the front of this property.
08:20So we also want her to be about a foot, foot and a half above the road, so that was important to us.
08:25My favorite area is the 8th buho, because Jeff built it.
08:30And it's so comfortable in there. It's really chill. On the night time, it's really cool.
08:35It's pretty cozy in there. I like it in there. And of course...
08:39It's also set back from...
08:41You made it. We made it, so yeah.
08:44And it's set back from the road too, so it's a little bit quieter.
08:46My favorite spot is the yoga kubo, just because I like, I always grew up, I like lying on the floor and stretching out on the floor.
08:55So it's just a nice space to kind of stretch out, relax, read a book and still be outside.
09:04Maybe, I don't know.
09:05Maybe this year or next year, we're going to put some more, like a herb garden.
09:11We wanted to have like a rosemary and thyme, so we're not going to buy it in the market.
09:16Those things that it's going to be really difficult to find.
09:19And then more plants, more fruit trees, and we're going to have a garden.
09:25Definitely a lot of vegetables next year.
09:27We do have a few fruit trees already.
09:29We have mango, avocado, we have banana, guayabano.
09:34Most of our plants that it's in here are like from our neighbors and some of it comes from our carpenter.
09:42Yeah. So the only plant we don't have right now, we don't have a lot of it.
09:47But we have a lot of it.
09:48It's from our neighbors and some of it comes from our carpenter.
09:53Yeah. So the only plant we bought that you see here is the bougainvillea at the front.
09:59Because every time we drive past the bougainvillea, Kenneth's always saying, I need a bougainvillea.
10:04So I was at the market one day and I saw the bougainvillea and I didn't want to hear about the bougainvillea anymore.
10:10So I put it in my bicycle basket and pedaled it home.
10:14Yeah, we filter all our own water. We have a Berkey water filter.
10:17So we pull water right from our deep well and then we put it through the Berkey.
10:22And then we may or may not put a pool in.
10:25We have the ocean already, so I don't think we need a pool.
10:37It's a learning process. It's nice to learn different things every day.
10:41We're learning more about each other.
10:43Exactly.
10:44Working together so closely, I think it also gave us a little more patience with each other.
10:50Yeah.
10:52I think one of the largest takeaways is though, if you really want to do something and if you have a dream, you just have to go for it.
10:58Yeah.
11:00It's amazing what you can learn as you go rather than sitting back and waiting for the right moment.
11:04There's never going to be the right moment.
11:06Today is the right moment.
11:08Today is the right moment.
11:09I would suggest to anybody thinking of following their dreams, just start. Starting is the hardest part of it.
11:16The first step is the hardest part, but after that, it's going to be…
11:20And not every day has been fun. We stopped saying that it's a hard day. We started saying it's a challenging day.
11:27Yeah, it's a challenging day.
11:29You can find us on duunbaler.com. You can also find us on Facebook, backslash duunbaler.
11:37You can find us on Insta, at duunbaler as well. And of course, you can find us on Airbnb.
11:42Airbnb, backslash H, backslash duunbaler.
11:58For more videos like this, subscribe to OG and be part of the community.