With Housing
p. 61 · Read in the full issue
Tongan Experiments With Housing
A Demonstration House,
erected by the Government of Tonga, at Sopu, Tongatapu, has been causing much interest recently.
Measuring 20 ft by 16 ft and with 5k ft walls and a thatched roof, the building is largely of local sun dried bricks made from ten parts earth and one part cement, with the outer walls plastered.
In an effort to discourage the use of coconut leaf as house thatching —which results in damage to coco nut palms and reduced copra pro duction the house has been thatched with grass.
On one side the thatching is in the Tongan style with grass heads downward, and the other side in the English style with cut ends downward, in a test to see which method stands the weather best.