The Kid Should See This

How to build a grass hut – Primitive Technology

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TIL: Grass huts require a lot of grass… about five days worth of collected guinea grass seems to work particularly well. From Primitive Technology, this is how to build a grass hut in about seven days:

The design is a simple pointed dome that’s easy to build. The tools used were simply sharp stones and a digging stick. It’s 2.5 m wide and 2 m tall. 8 lawyer cane strips were driven into the ground to form the ribs of the structure and hoops of cane were put over this to attach the grass to. Vine was used to tie the frame together and to tie handfuls of long grass to it. When the hut was almost finished a cap was made and lifted onto the top of the dome to finish it.

This hut is easy to build and houses a large volume. The shape is wind resistant and strong for it’s materials. Gaps can be seen in the thatch but not if viewing from directly underneath meaning that it should shed rain well. A fire should be possible in the hut as long as it’s small and kept in a pit in the center.The reason the hut took so long is due to the scarcity of grass on the hill. It could be built much quicker in a field.

Watch more Primitive Technology on this site, plus: Weaver Birds design and build intricate nests, Patrick Dougherty’s Stickwork, building a barn in one day, and how to make rope with grass.


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