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Building Yard
Houses in Sicambeni are
traditionally
constructed as Rondavels.
These simple structures
consist of one large
circular building,
approximately 15 metres
in diameter with
thatched roofing. The
preferred building
methods are that of
using wattle and daub or
using hand moulded clay
bricks. Western
influence has meant that
many houses are now
built to resemble the
square buildings seen on
TV, growing in size and
taking on more elaborate
designs yet still using
the same building
methods and substituting
thatch for corrugated
tin.
This change has lead to
a loss of stability and
longevity within the
structures as well as an
increase in building
costs. The end result is
that now many families
live in houses that are
quite literally falling
apart and simply don’t
have the money of the
skills to rebuild. As
with all methods used by
the center our building
techniques are designed
to be cost effective and
easy to replicate. All
materials are sourced
locally and no external
workmen are used –
everything comes from
within.
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We use a hand-operated
mechanical press to make
stabilised bricks. Clay
based soil dug from the
land is used to form the
base of the bricks, this
is mixed with a small
amount (5%) of cement to
stabilise the brick.
Although building
without the cement is
possible we aim to
produce strong houses
with longevity. The mix
is compressed and left
to sun dry. The roofs of
the buildings are made
from wood cut from the
local forest and local
grasses to thatch the
roofs.
So far 5 rondavels and
the ablution block have
been built using these
methods. (Although we
chose to roof the
Ablutions using
corrugated tin as part
of our solar shower
project). Currently we
are building the
learning center,
nutritional kitchen and
chicken house using
these methods.
The techniques described
above have been taught
to members of the local
community who are in
turn passing that
knowledge on to others.
The hand press is
available for the
community to use and
make their own bricks to
upgrade and improve
their housing.
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