LOCATION: Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India.
DATE: August 2016
HEIGHT: 6m
SURFACE: 14 m²
MATERIALS: Based on the traditional South Indian ‘keeth house’: casuarina beams, Areca nut (pakku maram) planks, woven coconut (Keeth) roof, coconut pod (palai) binders, and coconut rope.
We often organise workshops to share the possibility with any human being to access their dream of building a treehouse in their back garden. The Traditional Treehouse Construction workshop brings up the basics of climbing, design, treehouse structure, tree knowledge, and materials to build a treehouse. No machine tools are used but hands and cutties (Indian machetes). The O’Banyan was built on a large Banyan tree, and we used all the materials usually harvested for a traditional South Indian ‘keeth house’: casuarina beams, Areca nut (pakku maram) planks, woven coconut (Keeth) roof, coconut pod (palai) binders, and coconut rope. The participants prepare and cut the materials locally sourced. Roasted, the casuarina beams lose their glucose content and become resistant to insect attacks. Areca nut is a crop wood widely cultivated in Tamil Nadu and used in traditional construction for flooring. Coconut rope is used as connecting material. Soaked in water, it becomes more flexible and easy to tighten, getting its strength when drying up. Building such a treehouse is a real group action project. Once the primary structure is laid, building the floor and roof becomes a matter of two days of collective dynamic and chain work.
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