Living and dying in Tai O : sustaining the heritage of stilt houses in the fishing village of Tai O

Abstract

The government plans to redevelop Tai O into a tourist spot. Recently, the government is seeking strategies to maintain the existing community of Tai O and retain the cultural heritage, natural environment and local economy of the place. This will shift Tai O’s major economy from fishing to tourism. The stilt houses are an important element of the history and the fishing village character of Tai O. Under the Government plan, all stilt houses in Tai O will be kept as one main tourism attraction, however the Government does not have intention to help the residents in the ongoing maintenance of the stilt houses.

The conditions of the stilt houses for most of the households, especially the elderly need to be improved. If the vulnerable states of the stilt houses are not well-identified, they could soon fall apart and disappear within our generation. This should force us to consider the preservation of the stilt house. Also, with the rebuilding project ahead, some signs of history will disappear if not controlled and conserved. As such the vulnerable factors need to be identified and suggestions are needed for the preservation purpose.

In order to thoroughly understand the vulnerable factors of the stilt houses, interviews with residents and members from Tai O Rural Committee, Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), Tai O Alliance Church and Tai O Residents’ Rights Concern Group were carried out in order to seek their views on the vulnerable factors of the stilt house and their opinion towards Tai O stilt house development and cultural & heritage conservation.

The dissertation is as attempt to address key queries such as: – Impact on Tai O stilt house resulted from disaster, natural degradation and Government policy – Human impact relating to the stilt house, including depopulation, environmental condition and tourist – Opinions regarding improving Tai O stilt house from residents – Future of Tai O Stilt house.

For the development of the Tai O stilt house, the opinion of local residents and actual situation in Tai O should be considered. In view of better development of stilt house in Tai O, cooperation and compromise between Government, Tai O Rural Committee, Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Tai O Alliance Church, Tai O Residents’ Rights Concern Group and residents would be more constructive for stilt house in Tai O.