Thursday, October 22, 2009

Thatched roof


The most productive tree

They say that the coconut tree is the only tree in which nothing goes waste (click on the picture of the coconut tree above to see the uses)

I remember seeing my grandmother weaving these coconut palms which were later used to thatch the roofs.

There is a particular way in which the woven palms were placed and tied with kayar (thin rope made from the coconut husk) If you don’t have kayar, you can use the single leaf of the coconut palm for tying. (the leaves are half heated over an open fire and it turns out very strong and binds well)

Two layers ensure that there is no leakage during monsoons and in summer it keeps the room cool. The roofs were thatched every year before the monsoons.

I tried my hand here doing it and it was fun. (This was clicked by my brother and that’s me on the right) This particular ante room was used as a shed to store items required for the kitchen especially fire wood.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

U make me nostalgic with ur posting .beautiful click!!!

Shri said...

Real beautiful pics!

Sunitha said...

It's great that you have such old pictures and that too of something interesting as this. I remember ola paakal at my grandparents place. They used to have them soaked in water and then cut the leaf into two and each will be pleated (medayum) Interesting post.

Chubskulit Rose said...

we used the coconut the same purpose as yours in the Philippines.

Thank you for dropping by my page.. I am now following your blog.. Hope to see you often..

By the way, I am trying to generate some support for our daughter. We entered her into a Smile Contest, and was wondering if you could please vote for her (just once), the contest runs until October 31st. Your vote would be so much appreciated.

To cast your vote, please go to this link. Please look for Jillian Rylie Cottrill.

Thank you very much!

Rose

Haddock said...

@ Sangeetha - its nice to be nostalgic at times.

@ Shri - thanks for the encouragement.

@ Nostalgia - Yes that reminds me of the whole procedure of soaking and drying, and yes medayal is the right word.

@ chubskulit - yeah hope to see you too here more often.

Anjuli said...

Really enjoy your posts with the old pics and stories of what happened then.