The traditional homes are disappearing, and it makes perfect sense, yet it’s sad to see the beautiful, round, thatched, mud, and dug houses being replaced by square concrete houses with metal roofs. Back in 1985, the concrete houses were starting to appear across the village. Any family with money was building them on their
compounds. The rondovals were smoky from the cooking fires, and the thatch hosted an entire encyclopedia of critters. The compounds themselves were surrounded by 3-foot-high mud-and-dung walls. The compound yard was kept completely clean and free of any material, living or not, that could hide a deadly snake. The women swept the compound every day with thatch brooms. Life was lived outdoors for the most part. There would be buckets for washing laundry, tubs for baths, and pots and pans neatly stacked against the home. Oftentimes, the rondovals and the compound walls were richly decorated with geometric designs.
As families acquired more money, they would build a much more solid concrete home. These were generally very small and one-room. If there were enough money, there might be a couple of rooms. Scott and I helped our friend, Nurse, and her family build a one-room concrete house for themselves. Concrete homes didn’t require constant repair and were better at keeping the rain out, not to mention the critters.
During this visit, there were many more concrete homes, with the traditional rondavals left to deteriorate in the compounds. Progress isn’t always pretty.
