JAGA HUB – Jewel of Agriculture and Generating Auxiliary of Albay

One of the main problems of Legazpi in general is flooding due to its 365 km coastline and close vicinity to the Mayon volcano. This causes the coastline areas to be underdeveloped and is therefore currently swarmed with street dwellers and congested informal housing. The Site also poses a threat to commercial economic growth due to the hazardous effects of such disasters, in effect it has not been an ideal building site for business establishments.

Legazpi Albay is popular for its agriculture and coastlines. They are known to produce and export copra and abaca that can be used as an alternative renewable resource like fishing lines and nets made from abaca fiber. Fishing is also a major occupation due to its rich marine biodiversity: some examples of aquatic resource that can be found along its shorelines are milkfish, grouper, mud crabs and prawns. Our project site is located along the coastlines of the Albay Gulf. The site is prone to flooding and natural disasters which hinders development within the area. It is also inhabited by informal settlers which makes them vulnerable to natural disasters especially typhoons.

J.A.G.A.(which means “to guard or a sentinel”) Hub also known as the Jewel of Agricultural and Generating Auxiliary of Albay is an Eco park complex and disaster reduction hub designed to protect the city from flooding as well as harness the power of nature through the use of energy harvesting facilities and solutions (water treatment plant). The project plans to maximize the surrounding nature, rivers around the city in order to provide a next generation and self sustainable city for the future.

The sole purpose of JAGA is to develop a hub which prioritizes the safety if its residents, provide a consistent water supply as well as improve their social livelihood experience. The project seeks to integrate a prototype of disaster reduction compounds where the affected residents could stay temporarily after a disaster. Through the use of proper planning combined with the natural elements of nature, this proposed hub will give them the comfort and security they deserve.

Overview of the issue and the approach: The problem of Legazpi City of Albay circulates around natural disasters in general, which causes flooding, unstable economic growth and shortage of safe water supply among its citizens. Our group envisions an approach with 3 main considerations, which is to preserve, innovate and recreate.

Preserve- To develop a hub which protects the city from flooding through the integration of a 50 meter offset of mangroves along the coastline of Albay gulf.

Innovate- To provide a consistent water supply, harnessing the power of nature, surrounding waters and energy harvesting solutions and facilities.

Recreate- To improve the social livelihood experience of the people of Legazpi city by incorporating eco park complexes and disaster reduction hubs.
The essence of the solution: The essence of jaga is to develop a hub which prioritizes the needs of its citizens. We created different facilities using proper planning combined with nature to deliver better quality of living.
The stakeholders in the project: Users: Citizens of Legazpi City

Government of Legazpi