Our house in Eita - a tribute to my Dad

After we'd live in Nanikai for a few months, Dad built the most amazing house in Eita, twenty feet from the beach, on the school campus. We lived in that house I think about a year. I think the maneaba (their city hall type meeting houses - we had church in the one on campus) was built first, then our house, but I can't remember for sure.

It was a beautiful experience building it too, as I hear the stories. I was too young to appreciate that process, but I've heard the stories. I'll try to do justice, and invite my dad to write another more accurate version, and I'll make another post for his account.

We needed to build a new house, on the school campus, for our family. Dad was an amazing pioneer in that he was not one to go into a country and impose his "better way" on the locals, instead he learned from them what worked for them and why, and used what worked and improved on it from his own experiences. For example, he learned from them that the height and shape of the roof made a difference in the coolness of the inside - an important thing in a country one degree from the equator! He knew from personal experience, in our house in Nanikai, that the materials you build the home with can also contribute to comfort. (Our prefab house in Nanikai was hot, and the lady who let us live in her house built a hut out back from local materials, and it was MUCH cooler.)

So after much studying and learning from local customs, he went to work. He knew that it would be important to have a good foundation. That would be one of his improvements. As it turned out, the site we picked for our house turned out to be an old garbage dump, so it took longer than expected to prepare the ground for the foundation. Finally, he was ready. He used some of the students to assist in the process, including cutting down fresh coconut trees for the main weight bearing posts on the corners and sides. Those were sunk with a concrete base, then after the basic foundation structure was in place, he mixed and poured cement in as a floor for the entire six room house, (three bedrooms, front room & kitchen). This house was going to be about as big as their maneabas - HUGE!

There was a custom there for older gentlemen in the community to come help oversee building projects, offering their experienced advice to the younger builders. Since Dad had been asking for advice from locals, one of those old gentlemen came to assist in the project Dad was working on. He spent much of his time watching and wondering. Dad used a plastic pipe with some water in it as a level to be sure the foundation was level. He built trusses for the roof on the ground before raising them to the roofline. He did much of the construction work separate from the house assembly line style, and added it to the house when all duplicates were ready. Dad spent lots of time drawing archetectural sketches of the required angles, plans, etc. Most of that was new to this man, and he was so humble and curious, and open to learning these new things. Dad's mixture of modern technique with local materials and architecture became legendary. The Church gained a lot of respect in the community because of Dad's embracing their culture so openly in his building project.

Other than some imported wood for trusses & wall structure and nails, (oh, and the wiring and electrical work he put in for later when we would get electricity,) we used all local materials. The walls were traditional; they were made from coconut frond midribs stripped of the leaves and tied together into place then trimmed to fit the space required. (You can see them in the picture.) They are tight enough to not really see through, but still let breezes through. We used the same material for the 55 (?) revolving windows Dad put around the entire house, and on the walls inside the house too. I remember helping to tie those on with the strong local coconut fiber twine. (That twine is amazing - another post describes it.) We had a roof thatched with pandanus leaves, known there to be the material to last the longest yet still provide the cooling properties the local materials did. Local rocks became the steps up to the house.

It was beautiful and very impressive, and very comfortable. My dad is amazing!