Out at Sea, Relaxing in the Philippines

Out at Sea, Relaxing in the Philippines


A refreshing and truly picturesque angle of entrepreneurship in the Philippines is presented by a travel writer in the New York Times. "Tao", the sea-roaming enterprise referred to in the report, means "human", and "Buhay", the boat's name, means "life". (The nice photos accompanying the story  hint at the indispensable social responsibility elements of this entrepreneurial project).



"In planning my next trip to El Nido in February, I booked online with the bespoke sailing outfit Tao Philippines, which not only explores some of the most remote islands in Southeast Asia, but also offers a total digital holiday: no e-mail, no newsfeed, no phone.


"Tao was founded by Eddie Brock, a lanky 34-year-old Filipino, and his British buddy, Jack Foottit, 27, who met waiting tables in Scotland, then lit out for the islands of Palawan. Over the years, Mr. Brock and Mr. Foottit discovered an echt lonely planet of untrammeled islets and fishing villages and, so they could keep the adventure going, began taking those in the know along for the ride. They now have six bangkas, and my shipmates and I were their latest stowaways.
...

"Tao supports a small rural economy that spans the Philippine archipelago. Our morning coffee came from Mr. Brock’s village up north, while dinners were strictly locavore. When we stopped for the night on an island several hours away from the shipwreck, a large boar was roasting on a spit rotated by a barefoot villager. Tao owns 30 acres of the island, turning part of it into a banana plantation with room for eggplant, lemon cucumbers and tomatoes. We dropped off our dry bags in bamboo huts carpeted with sand and, after showering, sat down to eat."