Here is a typical house made of wood. Some of the newer homes are made of brick or concrete blocks. Both kinds of homes are made in stages.

The first stage is the walls and roof. Then the interior rooms are fitted with windows and the stuccoed, usually only one or two at a time. Finally the outside is stuccoed and in some cases designs are chiseled into the stucco, or tiles are embedded. This whole process can take 20 years or more before the home is complete, if ever. Most homes we saw were still rough on the outside. Many only had half of the interior rooms finished.

Un bon bain chaud apres une journee extenuante n'est pas une option dans leurs modestes demeures.

A hot bath after a hard day is not an option.

But then again all the people here own their homes outright.

Most homes have an impressive garden in their yards. These are usually for the families' fresh vegtables. Their main fields for are out of town.

Here is a nicer, newer home made of concrete blocks and wood.

This traditional doorway made of wood has many carved motifs present. In some villages nearly all homes had a gate like this.

Portail traditionnel qui symbolise l'entraide et l'integration de chacun des membres de la communaute par ses torsades et ses noeuds de bois sculptes.

This is a detail of the gate.

The rope around the edges represents the integration of all the members of the community. Where the rope is only as strong as the members are woven together.