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Despite the fierce weather conditions in the mountainous region, the made-of-clay ‘trinh tuong’ houses can still stand the test of time and keep the owners warm in winter and cool in summer.
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‘Trinh tuong’ houses are popular in Vietnam’s northern region. Ha Nhi people’s ‘trinh tuong’ houses are square-shaped with their roofs being tiled with thatch
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A ‘trinh tuong’ house often covers an area of 60-80 s.q.m; its wall is 40-60cm in thickness and is 4-5m in height.
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The building of ‘trinh tuong’ houses start at the end of the crop season, from the eighth to the twelfth lunar month.
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It requires a lot of time and effort to complete a ‘trinh tuong’ house, it can take up to even 4-5 months.
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The construction of the house starts with the building and setup of a concrete foundation
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Then, clay is compressed into moulds to make walls for the house. This is the most difficult step in the home building process.
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Although all steps are done manually without cement, these houses are very solid and firm
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An insight to the making of the walls for the house.
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A mould is 2-2.5m in length and 60cm in width.
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An overview of a small village inside a valley in Nam Pung commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province. Nowadays, many people have constructed their houses with mental roofs instead of using thatch to tile their roof like in the past.
