At Home in the Congo

 In Culture

I recently discovered a previously unfamiliar form of housing during a month-long work trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where I stayed in the small town of Pweto on Lake Mweru, in the Katanga Region (southeast DRC). In Pweto there is no electricity or running water, and the inhabitants (now returning from Zambia where they have spent several years as civil war refugees) have few possessions.

A house of bricks and straw
In Pweto, a family’s home is typically composed of 3 separate structures: a cottage or hut, a gazebo-like structure called a “paillotte,” and an outhouse. The cottage begins with a stone or mud brick foundation rising about a foot above the ground, and extending in the front a few feet beyond the walls. This extension creates a stoop often used as seating. The walls are of baked mud bricks sometimes covered with stucco. The roof structure is bamboo installed in an intricate criss-cross pattern. Long grass is tied in bunches to the bamboo grid, creating a thatch roof 9 to 12 inches thick.

Pressing on under the thatch
This cottage/hut is used for sleeping, dressing and storage, and occasionally, in bad weather, for cooking and living space. (I think it is also used for some mysterious type of non-electrically assisted ironing, as the people who emerge from these homes always have impeccably pressed clothes, and repeatedly reproached my wrinkled shirts.)

Most of the time, however, people prefer to live outdoors, within and around the “paillotte,” an open-air structure surrounded by a 2 foot mud brick wall, and covered with the same bamboo and thatch roof as the house. It is the center of day-to-day living, providing a sense of privacy, shelter from sun and rain, yet also an open environment which easily accommodates their convivial lifestyle.

Finally, there is the picturesque outhouse, a miniature model of the thatched hut.

Living lightly with what’s at hand
Although I have always brought an awareness of “green” aspects of design into my work, I realized in Pweto that our best efforts represent only a small fraction of the sustainability inherent in these thatched hut communities.

Other than a bit of cement from Zambia for the most privileged foundations, all materials used are found in nature within a 5 mile radius of Pweto. The mud bricks are baked on site, piled in a mound with cavities where intense fires burn for several days. Foundation rocks, gravel and sand are collected in river beds or at the lake. Bamboo and grasses for roofing are found in abundance outside of town. The minimal transportation required is by bicycle, foot, or on the heads of local women.

This is truly living lightly on the earth, and a humbling lesson in contrasts.

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Showing 13 comments
  • Priskilla Hosana Putri
    Reply

    I believe you have observed some very interesting points , thankyou for the post.

    • Skods
      Reply

      Pamela August 25, 2011 I’ve missed reading your blog! I was on vacation! I definitely want to try the oats in a jar.. what a way to anticipate the end of a peanut butter jar! LOLIn response to your question, I always make my own concoctions.. that’s the most fun thing to do in the kitchen! And I was thinking, when you were listing out your ingredients (which, your breakfast burrito sounds like something totally yummy and very familiar to something I would make) I was thinking of Migas . You should try it sometime, I think it’s Mexican, and you use up leftover tortillas or even tortilla chips with eggs and other ingredients for breakfast.. it’s really good!

      • Dayury
        Reply

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      Reply

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  • Serena
    Reply

    Not a huge oatmeal lover, but I ideedcd to try over night oats in a jar because every blog I hit I saw it. The flavor was amazing, except next time I think I’ll heat it up, I wasn’t too fond of cold oats.Love your recipes as always!

  • Coolanand
    Reply

    This is so cute! I’m a teacher so I think I’m going to make one for my desk. What fonts did you use? They are both allery fun!

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    Reply

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