BUILDING HOUSES WITH BLACK WATTLE

The Black Wattle tree is very useful, offering wood that makes excellent charcoal from the old gnarled trees, and perfect firewood from the younger trees. It burns with a very hot flame, even when the wood hasn’t yet dried, the sap bubbling and fizzing, making a white foam that drips off the end away from the flame. Straight sections split very nicely to fit into the firebox of any wood stove. There can be a lot of smoke when starting a fire, but the bed of coals can last for hours. In some parts of the world the tree is considered a pest but God must have designed that tree specifically for man to use for fires and to build houses in Zaire.

The bark of the younger trees is used in the leather tanning process and can also be used to lash poles together, if the bark is still green. The mature trees can be sawn into boards to make into decorative furniture, but isn’t ideal for building, unless used in mud and wattle construction.

Last week I related the story about burning off the forest on Mount Aboro. I had to answer to the authorities. Starting the fire was easy, but after it was started, what happened was way beyond my control, not unlike what happens with what we say.

I did have to go to the Agronome at Buba and reply to the questions asked by the authorities in what was called the procès-verbal, the questioning to determine what had happened.

They proved to be very understanding and gravely collected all the details asking:

    “Where did you make the fire?” – between three rocks at the top of the mountain;

    “Why did you make the fire?” – to heat water to make tea for my children;

    “How did the fire burn the forest?” – the wind came up and took the fire away from us;

    “What did we do to put it out?” – we stamped on it, hit it with branches, but it overcame us.

There was no action taken against me.

I am sure Mount Aboro became green again, because after the rains it was certain that millions of black wattle seeds would germinate and the young trees battle for the light, growing straight and tall to become materials to build new houses. There were no houses burned in that fire, because, at that time, there were very few houses near the mountain.

Looking at satellite maps in the vicinity of Mount Aboro, it is obvious that much of the burned off area is now gardens, and that there are many more people living near there. I like to think that what happened, when that mountain forest burned, has actually helped the people by clearing the land for gardens and stimulating the growth of a new, young, black wattle forest.

That our lives need to be built on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ, lest we be swept away when things become difficult, is taught in the Bible. Those who are wise also count the cost, lest they start to build and are unable to finish. There are many ways to build houses; I’d like to tell you how one can be built in that part of Africa.

Building a house, using local materials, is the only option in many parts of the world. Though one could buy nails at the shops in Kwandruma, there were no building supply stores, and the nails, counted out one at a time, weren’t actually needed either. The bark of the young wattle trees could be peeled away in long strips and used to lash the structure together. Even roofing was locally available, since long thatching grass grew in abundance in the less populated areas.

The most basic circular hut was limited in size by the length of the poles that would create the cone shaped roof. Taking two of the long roof poles, laying them on the ground, crossing each other at the thin end, the angle desired for the pitch of the roof could be determined. Too sharp an angle would give a steep roof and a small house while a big angle would give a bigger house, but a flatter roof that might sag and leak. The diameter of the hut was the length measured across the open end of the poles, up far enough from the thick end to have some roof overhang. The men building the house would fold the measuring string in half and use that length to lay out the circular wall of the house. It was the men’s job to build the structure, the women became involved later.

On a well-drained location, a level spot was chosen for the house. Measuring from the center, using the half string made from thin strips of wattle bark, the circumference of the hut was scratched out on the ground. Holes were dug using a machete, the same one used in clearing gardens. Vertical wall poles were prepared with a “V” notch cut in the top to accept the thicker saplings that would make a strong ring around the entire hut to support the roof poles. The best poles would be set either side of the door opening and all the others spaced more closely along the line in the dirt that defined the wall. The thicker poles, cut and notched to match the door posts, were set to leave gaps for the thinner ones to fill in the spaces. Of course the depth of the holes for each helped achieve the alignment of the notches for the best support of the top ring.

You have heard nothing about a foundation for this house. The depth of the holes dug for the poles and the ground itself formed the foundation. A wise builder dug deep, past the top soil, down into the red clay subsoil if he was building somewhere near Rethy. He also selected an open area where rain water would flow away from the site.

The thin wattle saplings, that grew up so abundantly after the burning off the old forest area and undergrowth, were so flexible that they could be woven in and out between the poles set for the wall. Using hundreds of the saplings, spacing and lashing them close together, created a very strong wall. Space for a window wasn’t really necessary, because when the mudding was done a couple areas could be left without mud and light could filter in. The result was a strong cylinder with all the wall poles set directly into the ground.

The conical roof structure was to be assembled from the long poles that had been selected for the main rafters. A tall temporary pole was erected at the center of the house to which the rafters could be tied, one at a time, until the cone gradually formed as poles were added. The ladder needed was a tripod structure with steps lashed up each of the three sides. It was built to stand on its own, was strong enough to support two men, and was tall enough to be able to reach the peak. The two men who received the top end of each of the rafters would then be able to lash them to each other and to the center pole.

Each rafter was notched to fit down over the ring support and lashed in place. Using saplings as cross members, the rafters were then tied to each other creating successively smaller rings around the whole house as the men worked up to the top. The roof thatch would be tied down to those rings. Half-rafters were added from the main ring support up to an adjacent rafter to reduce the spacing between them where they rested on top of the wall. All were tied to the underside of the rings and lashed at the top to the main rafter poles.

Using matette, a tall local grass that has stalks that slightly resemble bamboo, additional rings were added to the roof structure between those made of the black wattle saplings. Though not as strong they provided the points needed to tie down the thatching grass. Matette was also used to fill in the gaps between the saplings that were woven into the wall so the mud, later to be filled in by the women, would not fall out before it hardened.

The framing was now complete and not one nail had been used. All was built with local materials, and all was lashed together using the soft wet bark from saplings. The hot sun soon dried out the structure and all the lashings tightened as they hardened. The only iron tools that had been used, were the same ones used in their gardens, their machetes and hoes.

Thatching grass, though it grew on its own, was often difficult to get, because the nearby fields were all gardens. The grass needed to be cut and tied, at the thick end, into hundreds of bundles that tapered almost to a point because of the differing lengths of the grass stalks. Out in the field these were assembled to make large loads that were all a man or woman could carry. The men usually used a bicycle, if they had one, and the women helped by carrying the loads on their head. It was quite a project to get all the needed thatching grass to the building site.

Beginning at the base of the cone shaped roof, the first row of bundles was tied, thick end down, with the tapered top end pointing up the cone to the peak. This row is needed to give the proper thickness of thatch at the edge of the roof but would not shed the water. Each was packed tightly against the growing row until the entire circumference was completed. That first row had to be covered with a second row directly on top of it, this time with the big end of each bundle at the top with the long grass hanging out over the first row. Water would follow the tapered blades of grass and drip off at the ends. This row could be trimmed off later, evening off the lengths by chopping them with a machete against a block of wood held under the thatch. Subsequent rows were then added, overlapping the previous ones by about half their length. Skilled thatchers tie in the grass so tightly that the roofs don’t leak for many years. The last bundles at the top are tied tightly together with more thatch added on top of that to make a sort of hat for the hut.

Now it is the women’s work, though the men may help with the heavy digging. It takes a lot of mud to fill in all the spaces in the walls with sticky red mud, enhanced by adding chopped up grass and cow manure. The fibers keep the mud from breaking and falling out when it cracks as it dries. It will take several layers of mud to fill in all the cracks and more mud smeared on to smooth out the irregularities in the wall.

Once the wall is smooth and dry, thin layers of cow manure spread on the wall and floor seal it, and stop dirt from dusting off the wall. It also discourages insects that like to live in the dust. A white clay called pembi, with mohogo starch added makes it possible to paint the walls. Other colors of clay can be used to decorate the outside walls with geometric patterns as the owner may wish. The center pole used during construction is removed and the fire pit will be in that spot.

This kind of house offers all that is necessary. Protection from the heavy rains during the rainy season is provided. There is no winter cold that near the equator so the central wood fire cares for the heating. It also cooks all the meals which are harvested from the family garden. Since the beds are matts that are placed directly on the floor, there is no furniture that can’t fit in the hut. Food from the garden may be stored in in an outside kinguku, with seeds for next year’s planting hanging from the rafters.

The small round houses with the conical roof may eventually be fitted with a door.

Houses in America are being made ever larger for us and all our stuff. Even then, it is necessary to purchase storage space for what doesn’t fit in our house. Four or more bathrooms isn’t unusual and to have two or three car garages is common. Safety and security are high priority.

The Bible says that we should beware that we do not forget the Lord our God and become proud when we are full and have built goodly houses and live in them.