Nyumba 1971 House 1977

The house above is what we built and lived in at Tarani Kijiji cha Ujamaa in Mara Region. When I moved over to Kilimanjaro I built a similar house but using dimensional material; corrogated metal (bati) and Taveta stone which is a local soft volcanic rock which can be cut with a panga, machete. The metal roof was superior only in that it lasted for more years than the grass. The grass was free and rendered a house much cooler inside. In my metal roof house, I added the shower stall out the back and the overhead tank painted black for hot water. I found an old cast iron cook stove for a little heat and cooking. You can see the snows of Kilimanjaro in the background. 25 years later the little metal roof house is still in good condition and being used for a chapel. The thatch house is just a memory.