What is now left of the fishing village, four years after the Taal volcano violently erupted. Sitio Calauit, located at Taal Volcano Island was once a thriving fishing village where fish like Tawilis and Maliputo are easily caught through the net trap installed just near its shores.

Fisherfolk Rosanna, Manalo, 54 years old, meticulously takes out the fresh small Red and Nile tilapia caught using a gillnet or "panti" in Tagalog, along the shores of Sitio Calauit, Taal Island, Batangas, early morning of 4 March 2023. She would then butterfly-open those fish, dry them, and sell them for 250 pesos per kilo. Rosanna, who used to live here on Taal Volcano Island in Sitio Calauit. Recalling the scene during the Taal Volcano explosion, she said they hurriedly left the island during the disaster and were unable to bring and save most of their possessions. When they came back, their house was buried more than a meter deep, and it was impossible to retrieve in whole most of the things that belonged to her and her family.

Manny Cepeda Reyes looks inside his dilapidated house and slightly shakes his head in disbelief that, in one early morning after days of heavy rains, his abode would be wrecked by the opening of an earth fissure right under the foundation of his property in Brgy. Calangay, San Nicolas, Batangas, Thursday 12 Nov 2020. A significant number of houses, roads, and properties were destroyed by strings of earth fissures, rocking the Barangays of San Nicolas during the heavy rains brought about by typhoon Ulysses(Vamco). The shaking earth was first felt during the early morning hours around 4:00 am, when trees and other properties were immediately swallowed deep into the earth, instilling fear and chaos among the residents. This incident has occurred repeatedly in other parts of Batangas up to the present year.Geologically affected by Taal Volcano's eruption, the residents were advised to vacate their properties, which is problematic since there is no relocation site yet and until now many thousands of families in Batangas are still residing in evacuation centers due to earth movement hazards and compounded flash floods from recent typhoons. ​ More than eight towns within proximity of Taal Lake—such as San Nicolas, Talisay, Lemery, Agoncillo, and Laurel—regularly report cracks and earth shifts following heavy rains, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. What keeps Batanguenos strong are their solid familial and community bonds, which help them face the challenges.

Taal lakeshore resident Airam Rodriguez, an entrepreneurial mother, hangs to dry sheets of plastic bags that used to hold and contain fish feeds here in Laurel, Batangas, Once dried and stacked, these plastic bags are sold for recycling at six(6) pesos per kilo, earning Airam an average extra income of four thousand (4,000) pesos per month. Fishing communities around Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines despite the continuous threat of the volcano, lake swelling and earth fissures, have found a way on how to earn money while maintaining the beauty and health of its natural environment.

Former employee turned entrepreneur Pepito, guts a Tilapia while cooking vegetables in his al fresco store beside J.P. Laurel Highway in Malvar, Batangas, 14 May 2021. Displaced during the Taal Eruptions, coupled with the Covid-19 Pandemic, he and his family went to the Industrialized zone of Malvar, where factory workers with quarantine passes and Manufacturing IDs have limited freedom to go around to buy food. Hoping to generate income during the lockdown, he started a small store with a quick pick of fresh vegetables and fresh Tilapia. It had grown into a mini-mart of everyday household items during the lockdowns. When people started to move freely, Pepito and his family moved to another place.