You may know a lot about the Far East already, but those who don't, here's a few things to think about. Here in the P.I. many of the locals' houses are made of concrete bricks and nipa (leaves stripped from a tree).  Most of their houses have a cement or dirt floor. The bricks go up about three feet from the ground, and the rest is nipa leaves, which are very water resistant.  Some have nipa roofs, and some use sheet tin. That is very typical.  I will upload a few pics of these later. Of course, that's not everyone.  People in towns or cities build regular houses just like yours, except for one thing; it's all cement bricks.  They do not use wood like we do. Except for the roof, of course.  There are many reasons for this.  One is, they don't have enough trees to even think about doing that.  It's a small island. Another reason is that they get hit by numerous typhoons a year, and have to build to withstand them.
The locals' kitchen usually consists of a lean-to type add-on that barely protects them from the sun and rain. They cook all their food with charcoal, every day, three times a day. Most of my immediate neighbors have electricity, but no major appliances, because they can't afford a big bill. My three bedroom, two bath house is like a mansion to them. There are other very nice houses in my area, but it is not typical. Almost everyone here wears slippers all day (chinellas).  They wear them to play basketball and to work in. They usually have some good shoes but they want to save them for when they really need them, like formal functions, weddings, etc... So when I talk about helping the rice farmers, I hope you can see how serious I am.  They need it!
There are many rich Filipinos here too, but they are the minority. An extended family, or group, is very common as they all work together to make sure everybody eats and survives. Numerous family members may live under one roof, including newly married couples, who usually live with either the grooms family or the brides family, depending on which can help support them better.  Wouldn't you hate that?