BACOLOD CITY – Three Negrense artists unite in building the “earth chapel,” a collaborative work anchored on their common advocacy of protecting the environment.
The chapel, which was recently opened, is located within the area of the Greenheart Hermitage at the campus grounds of the University of Negros Occidental – Recoletos in Bacolod City in Negros Occidental province.
Greenheart Hermitage gathered three artists to build a chapel, made of indigenous materials (the structure is made of mud, bamboo, rice straw and stalk and cogon grass) and recycled materials (wine bottles, discarded tiles, discarded wood slab, etc.).
The three offered their work, time and talent pro bono, to realize the chapel; Marisol Alquizar, designed the chapel – she is a visual-artist who dedicates her time building mud houses in the island of Negros; Brother Tagoy Jakosalem, a Rekoleto friar and an official presenter of The Climate Reality Project and did the interior and conceptualize the incorporation of renewable energy into the structure making the chapel true to form and function in its liturgical scheme; and Nunelucio Alvarado, a leading social-realist artist in the country who designed the crucifix for the chapel – from his pen and ink version of “Kristo ni Alvarado” – transformed into a colorful mosaic as the centerpiece of the chapel.
“The chapel is the first solar-powered religious edifice in the country, it is envisioned both to have a sound spiritual and environmental atmosphere, LED lights are used to illumine the interior. Wine bottles are incorporated in the structure, natural lighting effects emanating from the green-colored wine bottles, serving as recyclable stained-glass windows,” said Jakosalem, a religious environmentalist who was personally trained on climate change science by Nobel Laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore through The Climate Reality Project.
“Working on a mud chapel, is a labor intensive exercise; that truly needs a collective manpower. The chapel, started its skeleton from the hands of volunteer students, who are all active members of the Tsinelas of Hope; offering their time to give life to the chapel,” explained Jakosalem.
“We are envisioning the chapel to be the center of our ecological reflection, owing to the spiritual inspiration of our Creator; hoping to be transformed to be men and women of faith committed to protect and preserve the earth,” declared Jakosalem.
The Climate Reality Project in the Philippines is currently doing its bottom-up information education campaign with the grassroots to promote awareness on the climate crisis, engage with different sectors and promote climate change adaptation and mitigation. Through the collective and individual of its 11 members who were by Al Gore and scientist-experts of the project, 8-Rs for sustainable living is are being encouraged to be done primarily at home: reduce, reuse, recycle, repair, refuse, rethink, rainforest and reconnect.
“Through the Earth Chapel, a sustainable spiritual edifice, we are reconnecting to what we have been. This is the 8th R which we always emphasize, R-econnecting ourselves to Nature, to the creation and to the Creator. Unless we are unable to realize that we are part of the whole creation, we will not be able to solve this climate crisis,” said Rodne Galicha, Philippine district manager of the Climate Reality Project.
“We are called to be stewards of creation and there is a need to re-establish the role of spirituality in restoring the integrity of creation,” Galicha said.
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