Monday, October 09, 2006

Leaf House in Cambodia

Do you live in leaf or concrete house? This is a photo I took when I first visited Neang at her "house" across the Monivorng Bridge. She lives in something better. In her hut, unlike this, only the roof is made of leaves. The floor is made of wooden planks while the walls are bags that used to contain cement. See Cement and cement bag houses

I watched a BBC program yesterday, "Bionic Buildings". The first houses were literally just skins, and made of animal skins, to protect us from the elements. Houses in the developed world have progressed so much. Today's bionic buildings are able to "tan" (change colour according to the weather), have the ability to self-clean (just like the Lotus leaf--dirt and water just slip off...think of the money saved from cleaning buildings), and are able to keep temperature constant just like termite houses in the desert. One day Cambodia will share in this progress. It may be a long time coming, but it will get there. Ultimately, nothing can stop scientific progress. People and events may delay progress but I have a teleological view of history.

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