playing with mud

Among the first things I noticed as I was familiarizing myself with the village is that their construction and their industries are indigenous, and for the most part sustainable. Who would have thought of mud houses in the Philippines? Do we have them somewhere I'm not aware of? They’re quite strong and sturdy; cooler inside than the concrete houses. The support is made of bamboo poles, then a bamboo frame is tied by cane rope (rattan) to keep the mud in place. Mud is then packed in (amazingly, this is the woman’s job), and if they bother to plaster the walls it actually looks neat! Though most of them leave it just as it is, which is a shame, really. This country isn’t known for their sense of aesthetics. But it amazes me how one can build a house here for practically free, without much skills required. I’ve never paid so much attention to construction before!