🏠 A Home That Lasts
Wood, mud, stone, and thatch come together into a dry, warm house with a fire that stays where it belongs.
Choose where to build
Pick ground that is dry, safe from floods and falling trees, facing the sun, and near water but not too near.
Move heavy things with levers, ramps, and rollers
A long pole over a stone, a gentle slope, and logs under the load let one person move what ten could not lift.
Fell trees and split planks
Cut small trees safely, then hammer wooden wedges along the grain to split out posts and flat boards without a saw.
Raise a wooden frame
Cut, notch, lash, and peg posts and beams into a strong skeleton that will carry the roof.
Weave and mud the walls
Weave springy branches between the posts and press on mud, straw, and dung until the wind cannot find a way in.
Thatch a roof
Tie bundles of reeds or straw in overlapping rows, layered like a bird's feathers, so rain runs off for years.
Build a hearth and chimney
Make a safe brick-and-stone place for fire inside, with a way for smoke to leave without you leaving too.
Fit a door and make simple furniture
Hang a plank door that shuts, build a bed off the cold ground, and make a stool and shelf to live with.
Raise a one-room house
Put it all together — frame, woven walls, mud plaster, thatch, door, and hearth — into a home.