Remembering the Coconut House

by Oliver Carlos

Before the Coconut Palace, there was the Coconut House. This was a large 2-storey house whose wood materials were made of coconut. Its walls, stairs, and floor tiles were from the so-called “Tree of Life,” Cocos nucifera. This house had 7 bedrooms, and a long 2nd floor terrace. Inside were furniture such as a bar, cabinets, and tables, all made of coconut wood. The Coconut house was located in a small valley inside the UPLB College of Forestry campus. It was built in the mid-1970s to be the official residence of the Director of the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI). Its first resident was my maternal grandfather, Dr. Francisco N. Tamolang.

Main photo (by Jet Castillo): The ruins of the Coconut House. At the bottom is the wall of the sala, and the red steps is the base of the staircase which leads to the 2nd floor. The terraces and the blue grotto at the rear are part of the backyard. Meanwhile, I placed the inset at the exact spot where it was taken. Notice the floor tiles and the furniture. They were made of coconut wood. The people in the inset are, from left to right: My grandpa Francisco, my aunts Paz and Cely, uncle Marcos wearing his PMMA uniform, my Mom carrying my sisters Lenlen and Joan, and on the extreme right, my grandma Amparo. (inset from the Tamolang Family collection)

Of the 10 Tamolang siblings, 6 of them stayed there. My parents didn’t live in the Coconut House, but I was a daily visitor there. We rented a separate house in Carbern Village outside UPLB. I was 3–5 years old when I was frequently brought there by my parents to play with my cousins who lived in Forestry. Although I was very young at that time, I still have vivid images in my mind of the Coconut House. I can even draw its floor plan from sheer memory.

The Coconut House was the center of gravity of the area. There were guests almost every day. They were from my grandfather’s work, or from the Ilocano and Pangasinense community of Los Banos. Regular mealtime at the Coconut House was like a fiesta. There’s a long dining table and people would eat in batches because we were so many. My grandmother had a squad of people helping her out in the kitchen and also in the garden.

One time there was around a hundred guests wearing white military uniforms and they filled the backyard during their picture taking. They were cadets from the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA). They attended Uncle Marcos’ birthday party. He was their classmate.

Fast forward 40 years later. Out of curiosity, I drove to the site of the Coconut House. I heard years ago that it was demolished, but I wanted to see what stands on the same spot now. I brought my parents with me on that expedition.

We were surprised to see that nothing was built on the site. The foundations were still there including part of the sala wall and the first 2 steps of the staircase. These were made of concrete. At the backyard, the structure that I used to call “Banaue Rice Terraces” and the grotto were still existent. But over-all, the place was desolate.

My Dad said that after my grandfather retired, the Coconut House became some sort of a boarding house. There were at least 4 families who simultaneously occupied the house. Soon it deteriorated and was demolished. I felt nostalgic and sad at the same time. But at hindsight, the Tamolangs had better residences in post-Coconut House era.

As I reflected on the pictures I took at the site, I remembered what the apostle Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 5. He compared the human body to an earthly abode- to a tent, to be exact. He said that all human dwelling places are temporary, so much more a tent. That is how our human bodies are like too. They’re not going to last forever.

“We know that our body — the tent we live in here on earth — will be destroyed. But when that happens, God will have a home for us to live in. It will not be the kind of home people build here. It will be a home in heaven that will continue forever.” (2 Corinthians 5:1, ERV)

The verse says that life on earth is temporary, just like a tent. When you pitch a tent, you’re not thinking that you will live on that spot for a long time. As campers drive the tent pegs on the ground, they still think that they would someday sleep in a more comfortable abode made of sturdier materials. We should have the same mentality with regards to our stay here on earth. It’s good to pursue our dreams, establish careers, and gather up wealth. These are nice things to do, but we should keep in mind that these are like a tent, they’re not forever. As we build our earthly lives, let us aspire to acquire a more permanent dwelling, which is the presence of the Lord in eternity.

Let us make sure that we are indeed going to heaven by accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. Repent from your sins, and surrender your past, present, and future to him. God promised eternal life to the people who would do that.