Geographical distinctiveness: The structural identity of stilt houses

The study looked into the relevance of structural identity of the stilt houses and its cultural heritage as a community in order to put in place the proper perspective to distinguish the geographical distinctiveness of the stilt houses so unique among the dwellers of San Agustin in Candaba, Pampanga, and to bring to light its own developing structural distinction. Utilizing the qualitative narratological approach, an approach in qualitative research which described the meaning of a lived experience of identified individuals, where the purpose is to describe the commonalities of the experiences of the community people in barangay San Agustin in terms of the structural identity of stilt houses as they faced challenges due to the threat of too much flooding in their present geographical location. The structural identity of the stilt houses was described by the informants in terms of the age of the house built, amount used in building the house, and its architectural designs. Likewise, the factors that nurtured the geographical distinctiveness of the dwellers as participants were identified to develop a written contemporary development of barangay San Agustin. The San Agustin dwellers are traditional people who have strong faith to their Patron Saint “San Agustin”, yearly celebrating “Fiestang Tubig”. The type of house they built made them feel flexible to accept the benefit of flooding instead of being fearful of the coming weather condition; they looked into it as blessing. The life of the people in San Agustin is heavily dependent in heavy rain and agriculture like farming and fisheries. The people residing in Stilt Houses have a simple life.