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2.  Rizal was a licensed land surveyor before he
took up medicine. This training enabled
him to engage in civil engineering works.
Among his achievements were the dam
and waterworks he constructed in Dapitan
in 1894 through the help of his pupils. The
waterworks were built using stones, cast-off
tiles, bamboo pipes, and mortar from burnt
coral. He also invented a brick making
machine, and a preparation of bakhaw
paste, useful for roof construction because
of its water resistance, fireproof and
lightweight properties.

3. Through the help of his Jesuit teacher, Fr.
Francisco de Paula Sanchez, Rizal set up a
public plaza and street lighting, and
constructed a huge relief map of
Mindanao in front of the parish church, now
declared a National Historical Landmark by
the NHI and an important cultural property
by the National Museum. In Talisay, he built
three distinct bamboo and nipa houses --
square, hexagonal, and octagonal in
shapes, which served as family residence,
chicken coop, and his pupils' dormitory,
respectively.

8. By GEMMA CRUZ ARANETA
April 29, 2009, 5:21pm
You will probably agree that Jose Rizal’s most depressing poem is “Mi Retiro,” written
shortly after he arrived in Dapitan, which must have seemed like a veritable hinterland
after his sojourn in Western Europe. But Rizal never wasted time wallowing in his personal
tragedies. He always embarked on projects that would redound to the good of his
fellow Filipinos. In Dapitan, he left a legacy that Zamboanguenos cherish to this day.
Aside from installing a waterworks system, a clinic and a school, he made a relief map of
Mindanao at the public plaza which has become, Dapitan’s must see destination. Not
many of us know that with the encouragement of his former Ateneo professor, Fr.
Francisco de P. Sanchez, who was assigned to Dapitan, Rizal came up with a paste
made of bakhaw ( bakawan) which could have been used for construction material
suitable to these tropical climes.
Noting Rizal’s interest in that mangrove plant, Fr. Sanchez lent him the “Historia de Filipinas,”
authored by fellow Jesuit Juan Jose Delgado, where on page 589 mentioned that local
carpenters make a pasty substance with the bakhaw fruit and use this to fill in and
smoothen the imperfections of wood.
Intrigued by what he had read, Rizal began to experiment with the bakhaw to see if it could
become hard enough to carve and mold into particular shapes. According to Fr.
Sanchez, after a few days, he received a rather triumphant note from his ex-pupil
starting with “Eureka!,” claiming that he had discovered the formula for bakhaw paste.
This is how I did it, Rizal wrote, “with a knife I peeled the fruit and boiled the pulp until the
water turned reddish and while it was still hot, I mashed the pulp, mixing it with a little
lime water to make a water-resistant paste.” Significantly, at note, written with a pencil
as he had ran out of ink, was dated 30 December 1892.
In a report to his superiors, Fr. Sanchez said Rizal made several sculptural studies using the
bakhaw paste. He molded figurines, frames, tiles and observed that the bakhaw paste
or masilla had three properties that made it ideal for tile roofing; it’s water resistant,
fireproof and very light in weight. Their next project was about potable water.

9. Rizal also invented an air
compressed lighter for his
friend Blumentritt. He called
it the Sulpakan, as seen in
the letter.

10. Calamba, 26 September 1887
Dear Friend,
I am sending you a little box, the same one you sent me to Vienna; it then
contained my pin. Now it contains 6 cigarettes, sampaguitas and cinnamon and
kamuning flowers as well as a Tagalog lighter.1 Its mechanism is based on the
principle of compressed air.
The tinder is placed at the extreme of the stick "a." This tinder is held in "d."
Afterwards the stick is inserted in the hole "c;" it is pushed in vigorously and
withdrawn immediately, and now you have the fire. In order that it may slip in
more smoothly the stick is greased (e). The lighter is called sulpakan, from the
root sulpak, meaning to insert a stick through a hole.
I received your letter with the picture of the good Dr. Czepelack. It gave me
much joy. Please give him some cigarettes. I cannot send you many because
the Austrian customs is very strict. Thanks for the photograph.

11. I cannot write you much because we have just suffered a great misfortune. One of my sisters,
perhaps the best and the most unaffected, mother of two boys, has just died.2 She had a
difficult childbirth and she lost so much blood that she died in less than thirteen hours. For this
reason, I cannot leave my family this year.
The poor little orphans do not realize their misfortune and they are always waiting to see
their mother again. They say: "Tomorrow Mama is coming back; God will cure her."
Yesterday we visited the grave. The boys called their mother telling her: "Let's go home now;
come as soon as you are well!" I believe that if there exists a soul that hears and thinks, the
mother ought to have heard also the innocent voice of her sons. I console myself saying that
it was the will of God and what He does must be the best.
Now we have pasiam. My sister Olimpia died last Thursday.
The older and the more used the lighter is the better it will kindle and the stick "a" will slide
better.
Please greet on my behalf my good friends Czepelack and Klutschack. I will try to write them
by the next mail.
Greetings to the family.
I embrace you.
Faithfully yours,
Rizal
You will also receive a gold coin. They have just found a large number of them
buried in a clay jar. It is believed that they were the coins used by the
ancient Tagalogs.

13.  Sources:
 http://thelifeandworksofrizal.blogspot.com/201
1/04/rizal-engineer-and-architect.html
 http://ph.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?
qid=20070624033442AA3Zc7y
 http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Jose
_Rizal:_Persecution_and_Exile_in_Dapitan
 http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/204193/rizal-s-
bakhaw-formula#.UPb4Uh0Z2jQ
 http://www.filipiniana.net/publication/letter-to-
ferdinand-blumentritt-kalamba-26-september-
1887/12791881703022/1/1
 http://eastgatepublishing.com/2012/01/finding
-rizal/
 http://joserizal.info/Biography/man_and_martyr
/chapter14.htm