Construction at Basehut

This is Basehut, our center of operations in the village. It has character and views like no other office – a totally amazing place to work! It is entirely constructed of local natural materials, mostly bamboo. It’s hard to believe how versatile bamboo is until you see it being used around the village. Here for example, we have bamboo beams, walls, floor, handrails, noticeboards. The roof and the floor are tied on with bamboo, we have bamboo baskets to keep things in and have even made bamboo cups to drink from - I’m beginning to wonder how we get by without it back home!

Unfortunately our roof (made of layered leaves and bamboo) had begun to leak in the downpours of rainy season. Big problem? Not at all. “De bah no me bah” as they say in the village. Fresh roofing materials were acquired from a nearby town and in one day we had a brand new roof.

In the supportive, communal way of the village, at least one person from each of our homestay families turned up to help. In a few hours of machete swinging and bamboo tying the entire roof had been raised and replaced. The only tools that were used were machetes a hammer and a small number of nails.

While the renovations were occurring we were in one of the nearby homes preparing a feast for everyone. We put our cooking class skills to good use making a mix of traditional dishes, BBQ and some entirely new hybrid creations. At the end of the day we all shared a meal together – not to mention a great sense of community. Bring it on rainy season!

Construction at Basehut