Poverty in Rural Philippines

Indigenous People of Philippines

Poverty Holds the People Back

About half of the Philippines’ 100 million people live in rural areas. Poverty is most severe and most widespread in these areas and almost 80 per cent of the country’s poor people live there. Agriculture is the primary and often only source of income for poor rural people, most of whom depend on subsistence farming and fishing for their livelihoods. In general, illiteracy, unemployment and the incidence of poverty are higher among indigenous peoples and people living in the upland areas. Overall, more than a third of the people in the Philippines live in poverty.

The poorest of the poor are the indigenous peoples, small-scale farmers who cultivate land received through agrarian reform, landless workers, fishers, people in upland areas and women.

There are substantial differences in the level of poverty between the regions and provinces and the poverty gap between urban and rural areas is widening. Indigenous people living in highly fragile and vulnerable ecosystems, people in the uplands of the Cordillera highlands and on Mindanao Island are among the poorest in the country.

The causes of poverty in rural areas in the Philippines vary widely from island to island. Among the causes of rural poverty are a decline in the productivity and profitability of farming, smaller farm sizes and unsustainable practices that have led to deforestation and depleted fishing waters. Rural areas lag behind in economic growth and they have higher underemployment. This is partly because poor people have little access to productive assets and business opportunities. They have few non-farm income-generating activities, and people lack access to microfinance services and affordable credit. Some vulnerable groups also face specific problems. For example, indigenous peoples have high illiteracy rates and are affected by the encroachment of modern technology and cultures onto traditional norms and practices. Fishers face continuing reduction in their catches and they have few opportunities or skills outside of fishing. Women have limited roles outside of marketing and family responsibilities.

Tim Potter 

Source

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Tim Potter Texas Expat 101

Tim Potter Texas Say's Do not kid yourself its hard.

Beware of moving overseas! It’s tough, confusing, disorienting… and ultimately, extremely rewarding.  So take it one day at a time and learn to walk before you run.

Living overseas will not solve your problems

 It may distract you for a while but you’ll likely find that once you’ve been overseas for a while, old habits and patterns begin to re-emerge and you’ll find yourself with all the same problems, just in a different place.  Your problems could only get worse if you run.  Face them prior to leaving.

Eliminate baggage

 Becoming an expat is not only physical, geographical, and logistical it’s also emotional. Your priorities change. Having these things back home will make you miss them.  Then when you return home you may question why you left to start with. It was such a distant memory.

Bring Money

When you arrive budget is out the window as you try to settle in.  So you must have more money then you thought.  Plan for the emergency that may arrive and be prepared.

Visit First

 All the reading and understanding does not explain the culture.  There is nothing that compares to boots on the ground.  A book and words mean nothing in real world situations   So visit for a while and see if it suits you.

Be Flexible

Be prepared to be flexible about specific destinations. A lot of research on a city that you  think you would love. After a couple of days of getting there you may realized it wasn’t the kind of place you wanted to spend more than a week let alone a life time.  You are not married to one place so do not give up.  Just move to another city.


Have Goals


 Know where you want to be and set a time frame.  Know that you must sacrifice in the short term to eventually reach those goals. If you come up short set the goal again.

Governments problems can be compounded

You need to be patient with the documentation procedure,  be open and understanding with different languages and culture.”

Research

Research, research, research


Have a support structure

Dedicate time to spend time with people of similar culture to bounce ideas and thoughts off.  It will keep you grounded.  It will allow you to be open to talking about your fears and frustrations.


Have interests that the country provides

 Do not be one dimensional when you move to the country.  You must have genuine interest in the country you are moving to. Enjoy all the sites and sounds of your surroundings.

Water and Condoms

Don’t drink the water and use a condom.


Do no accumulate to much stuff

When you first arrive you will want the creature comforts of home. Yet you need to give it time before you settle into your life 100%.  Ensure it is the location you desire as moving again would be of significant loss. This can be an emotional and physical drain if you must relocate.


Eat and speak local

Live outside your own little bubble.  Get out Eat foods that you never thought you would, Take in the culture and learn the language.  Push your self to the limits and then you reap the rewards.



Its not your home country

Your values and your idea of right and wrong belong in your home country.  Adapt to the surrounding and try to be an Expert of life there.  If you try and compare it will frustrate you and soon you will be packing.


Be a tourist

There is nothing wrong with being a tourist.  It actually gives you an excuse when you make an error. Slow down take time and just enjoy this new life. After the honeymoon is over then settle into that new life.


You will miss family

People that do not travel frequently become home sick. They miss the close family support structure. This life changing decision can not just be undo instantly.  It would be very costly to head back home.  So you should consider this aspect prior to any move.


It is a move not a vacation

This is a step to a new location and new life.  It will not end after a month so understand the dynamics involved. Do not think it is an extended vacation.  This will be your life from today forward.

Dream or reality

As long as you sit at home and dream about this.  The farther away it becomes.  The only way to make this happen is to do it. Then it becomes a reality.  Talk is cheap and dreams happen every day.  Reality is when you step off the plane and you have arrived.  To make this happen you must take the steps in the direction required and do what is required.  Every step forward is a step towards making this a Reality.

Enjoy

Tim Potter Texas

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ISP not giving you all your internet speed?

How to test the performance of your Broadband connection

Is there a time when I should be testing my connection?

I am real big on analogies so if you are going to test your connection.  See how the traffic flows on a highway is diffrent at different times of the day.  So just like your internet, congestion on your connection plays a huge part.

Also if you using your connection 24 hours a day downloading and up loading files you may be subject to throttling by your internet service provider.  This is to ensure fair use policy among all users.

So how can you see what kind of speed you are getting?

1. Go to Speedtest . This is a good site to check your possible through put of your internet.  It will check your burst speed and average your overall speed.

2 Find a server. Select a server that is close to your current location.  The farther away will result in lower speeds.

3 Click on Start test. This will start the test and show yo the end result of your test.

Now if you are not getting the speed promised.  You will need to do a little house cleaning before you go to your ISP and complain.  First restart your modem, router and your computer.  Then run the steps again.

If that still fails. Then you are going to want to run your Anti-Virus and Malware/Spyware application.  If you are confuse about this please follow this link.

If you have done all the step above.  Still prior to complaining to the ISP run the test at 3 different times during the day.  Ensure that it was not just a one time thing.  Once you armed with all this data it is now time to call the ISP.

So Enjoy

Remember to share or like on Facebook.  You can also follow me on Facebook.  

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How to Web Log or Blog using Blogger

Become a Blogger in no Time.

You’re able to become a journalist by writing your initial blog post, as an entry, for your new web log. as luck
would have it, the mechanics of writing a web log post are not much different from writing are e-mail.

Most posts are quite short and are written directly and informally, however you'll be able to build them as long as you would like. Each web log takes on a temperament and lifetime of its own.


If you've got used a Web-based e-mail service like Gmail, Hotmail, or MSN, web log package feels terribly acquainted. Making the post is solely a matter completing the acceptable fields in an exceedingly simple manner, info text, then sending it off to its destination — during this case, to your web log, instead of a friend’s inbox.

1 Go to the Blogger business screen.

Once you have finished signing up for your web log, click the beginning posting link to begin a web log post. The business screen seems. If you’re coming to Blogger, log in. Blogger takes you to the Dashboard — a sort of control board showing you the blogs you have got started — supplying you with access to tools like posting, facilitate resources, or maybe making another web log. Click the New Post link on the Dashboard to urge to the composing screen.

2 Enter a title for your post within the Title field.

Titles are like newspaper headlines, catchy and informative so they encourage guests to your web log to continue reading.

3 Write your post within the field.

Consider writing your web log posts in an exceedingly normal word-processing program, like text editor or Microsoft Word, and saving the document. several web loggers have spent hours composing right within the entry field of their blog  to find out that their web log has had a technical problem leading to a lost post.

4 Format your post.

Blogger’s entry field includes icons across the highest that allow you alter the font and font size, apply headings and italics to text, and make common info designs like lists. To use these options, choose the text within the field that wish to change by clicking and dragging over the text; then click the acceptable icon or choose an possibility from the specified drop-down list.

5 Preview and Publish.

I always like to preview my post prior to publishing the I reccomend you do the same.  Once this is complete it is now just a matter of hitting the Publish and you are now on the web.  With your very first web log or Blog.

Enjoy

To get more bang for your buck follow these links to assist.

Pictures Zol and Tim Potter Philippines
Pictures 1
Pictures 1

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Life With A Tablet PC

What is it like owning a Tablet PC

Well I bought a Samsung 7" tablet a few months back. The reason I bought a 7" and not a 10" was the fact I wanted something I could carry. However I wanted it large enough to see without having to expand the screen size. What I have found is this an excellent complimentary device that is portable light and easy to use. Additionally this has the capability for cell phone and messaging. Along with a blue tooth device it is just awesome. With a keyboard style layout and messaging in conversation mode. It makes for excellent communication. Also because it has 3G and 4G capabilities I can use Google Voice to call the US free of charge. (3g or wifi charges may apply). The size and weight of the device is also a plus we can carry it around to mall or to stores. This has replaced our cell phones and used as much as a laptop or desktop. It also has almost replaced the camera we have. It takes excellent pictures and with various apps it makes it so easy to take great pictures.

Google Play

Google Play

The other benefit is Google Play a site dedicated to applications that you can use on the device. Many are free and some charge. There are games, e-readers and just so much it is hard to explain. I was an Apple guy and thought Ipad has this market all sowed up with ease of use. Not the case. We have the 16Gb model and that is so much storage. We have hundreds of songs and thousands of pictures that can so easily be flipped through and listened to or watched.

Features

The other question many have are they all the same. Do all tablets that offer android have the same features and specs. I tried many of them and laid them down side by side. Ipad was the best of the bunch yet it had a price tag that says hey I am a Cadillac. Then I got to the Android tablets. I looked at specs and looked at storage on the device. I have a Tab Plus which minus (specs wise) the screen is better then the Tab 2 (not available when I purchased). The biggest thing I found with the cheaper models was the screen responsiveness. How hard I had to push or hold to make things happen. Clarity of icons and camera was another issue with the cheaper off name brands. The best thing to do is shop around there are so many brands to choose from. The Tab Plus is cheaper because of the release of the Tab2. One thing you should look for is a device that has Ice Cream Sandwich or Honey Comb. They are the latest OS for Android Devices. Stay away for a device that has Froyo as it may not be able to be upgraded as the case with the Original Samsung Tab. 

These devices are just awesome for the casual user that wants to surf or just wants to get on the web, check email or facebook. Without the hassle of a laptop. The battery life is reasonably good 9+ hours of surf time. Plus it makes life so easy.

Enjoy..... 

Computers blog