Northeast India's Beautifully Intricate Bamboo Homes | Show Me Where You Live Compilation

[Music] my name is Philippe simay I'm a philosopher and I'm interested in how architecture tells us about our lifestyles I'll take you to explore the most singular habitats on the planet to discover the meaning behind them and to share in their riches thank you [Music] hello hello Phillip it's a very impressive Bridge made of bamboo we brought the bamboo from my Village and built the bridge as it's the only way to cross the river otherwise we couldn't get to the main village is your village far from here a little bit further on follow me okay let's go I'm in the far Northeast of India in arunakao Pradesh a little-known state hemmed in by Tibet Bhutan and Burma I'm on my way to pong in a remote village located in the xiong valley deep within a vast Forest to reach the village it's a two-hour Trek from the bamboo Bridge it's the home of ADI known as the men of the hills an ethnic group of about 100 000 people spread across the Himalayan region in this state long closed off to the outside for political and Military reasons the Audi had no choice but to become self-sufficient hello is my Village 50 families live here there are several ethnic groups in this region people call us men of the Hills have learned to live with a local material bamboo they use it to build the framework and walls of their homes but also their furniture the Audi have managed to make use of all the potentials of bamboo and live self-sufficiently making their isolation a strength renewable and free bamboo is a precious resource for them and at the heart of a unique environmental and social ecosystem and here's my house ah oh yes you can see everything's in bamboo the framework but also the panels is this bark all our houses are constructed with bamboo even the walls and floors are in bamboo the bamboo in two and then weave it together we don't use any metal or Nails we use only bamboo for the construction it's very beautiful because it makes geometric patterns all over the walls come in I'll show you the inside okay thanks hello hello we call this room the volume it's where the Hearth is where we cook and where we sit in winter so who shares this house the first room is my daughter and son-in-law's bedroom these two rooms are their children's rooms that's my wife's room and if we have guests we put them up in here I think the bamboo brings a lot of softness and lightness to this house it makes the house very comfortable because it protects from the wind so in Winter we feel really snug and safe in here um another thing I like is you feel as if you're constantly in touch with the outdoors the bamboo filters noise and light but without cutting you off from the outside I think that's an interesting thing this one piece will make 52 layers watch on mobile devices or the big screen all for free no subscription required how about some tea sure I'd love some find me the tongs thank you when you drink a cup of hot tea it gives you strength let's drink together it's good [Music] it's a very beautiful house how long have you lived here [Music] but every five or six years we have to do repairs because gradually leaks appear in the roof and the house gets damaged in places once the house is too damaged we build a new one any bamboo that's still usable we recycle it into the new house we only throw away bamboo we can't use [Music] in the heart of this remote region the ADI of tibeto Berman origin are either animists or Christians they seem to have escaped the great movements in Indian history for centuries their life has been structured around rice farming hunting Gathering and of course the use of bamboo which is Central to their material culture [Music] bamboo has a unique beauty tall and frail buffeted by the winds and yet so robust it's able to resist all the hazards of nature much like the ADI who have found their place in the middle of all these forests [Music] bamboo has numerous qualities but the most important is that it grows incredibly fast from 30 centimeters to 1 meter a day [Music] foreign [Music] set amongst the mountains with all its bamboo houses have the Audi always built like this we've always built houses and the way we know how sometimes to a t-shaped plan and sometimes to an L-shaped plan but always according to our tradition yes I noticed there were two types of houses here one where the houses have a kind of substructure filled with branches and another where the house stands on small plates that's right two types of house the one we live in and the one where we store grain and rice which is raised we fixed the plates to protect it from rats and snakes it stops them from climbing up but have the Audi always used bamboo to build their homes construction has always been done with bamboo because it's easy to transport and assemble and when people get old they can't carry Wood anymore so it's much easier to use bamboo is the survival of the Audi really linked to this natural environment without this natural resource our people wouldn't be able to survive we'd have nowhere to live [Music] thank you [Music] gani Zaman is one of a generation of Indian architects who wants to combine local Traditions with the techniques of modern engineering a renowned specialist he has dedicated his life to Bamboo he visits the ADI to learn more and swap knowledge with the people who since learning how to walk live for and with bamboo [Music] so the house you're building will be just like this one all the houses are the same right for how many years will they be inhabitable five six five six seven seven years six six six okay okay ghani has recently designed a roofing system and has come to seek advice about its reliability from the inhabitants of pong in the rain will come in here and go out there it won't leak inside into the house and if ever a piece of bamboo breaks you just have to replace it whereas with Leaf roofs the slightest leak and you'll have to change the whole roof if you use this Roofing it will really be practical for you and you'll have a lot less effort to make do you think this technique could be good if you used it in your village yes it's very interesting it looks like a very good alternative we won't have to change the leaves and we'd save a lot of time plus it'll last much longer sure [Music] in pongan everyone is curious to discover new techniques and ready to share their know-how [Music] around the village there aren't vast bamboo forests just small plots but they meet the needs of all the inhabitants and allow them to be self-sufficient for the Audi everything is a machete's length away [Music] to be built all the men join in I accompany them to a bamboo Plantation on the edge of the village [Music] how do you pick which bamboos to cut if you cut them during the full moon it's no good because that's when they have the highest quantity of sugar and that attracts insects so we wait until the third day after the full moon you want to try cutting one sure I'd love to right okay hello let's go the machete is really sharp I'm not very accurate I'm chopping everywhere oh it's not easy almost there chop at this angle like this backhand I thought it was the age of the bamboo that mattered you can't cut bamboo before it's two years old you can tell its age from its bark look at this one smooth and clean so it's a baby bamboo on the older plants you can see black marks as they grow the bark becomes rougher to build a house how many bamboos like this do you need because they're really big we estimate the number of bamboo plants we need instinctively so first and foremost I listen to my heart but I do know that for a small house you need about 50. to build a large house you need about 100. let's make it fall thanks [Music] foreign all right it's not exactly the same you need to get the hang of it I chop Any Which Way thank you [Music] bamboo poles are light and easy to carry [Music] like worker ants in less than an hour we bring back the necessary quantity of bamboo to build the new house [Music] in the village everyone goes about their business whether it's school lessons cooking or farming the Audi lead a structured life based around family and community activities thank you gani Zaman constructs exclusively in bamboo the renowned architect has set himself the task of showing that it is possible to reappropriate this rarely used material and to make the pillar of a new type of architecture in the world we have about 1700 species of bamboo out of which 900 species grow in the Northeast India so why should I not be here why should I be anywhere else because bamboo is my life and I need to work with bamboo and and show the the developed countries to what you have done to the world and destroyed it with your co2s and all the eggs gases that you've given up we in the Northeast have the answer to your problem so I'm here and I'm exploring that why did you choose bamboo as your main material if I use wood let's say I'm using wood if I cut one tree it'll take me 40 years 30 years to re-cut it and use it whereas in the area of bamboo I cut to day one five will grow up by itself that's one the reason secondly bamboo absorbs 30 more CO2 than trees do and gives out equally amount of oxygen than trees do for many people see bamboo as the poor man's would so is it easy to spread the word about its qualities in the School of Architecture very specifically especially in India other places also they do not talk about bamboo because bamboo is a poor man's Timber right and bamboo is used for scrap holding for painting your building besides that nothing else we as architects who have got together and we are building houses high-end houses for very rich people trying to show them and it's explaining and also proving to them that bamboo is a rich man's Timber also not only a poor man's but we're also trying to increase the economy of the people if I can kill these people to give me bamboo I can buy it from them and build houses for the for the rich so these people get an earning they do not have to leave their Village to go to a city and create bigger slums this is going to help them they sit at home and earn money I presume you also like bamboo for its physical properties bamboo has to be felt has to be understood you cannot grab and bamboo and break it or cut it you have to understand it the texture of the bamboo the species of the bamboo how much compression that bamboo can take how much tensile the bamboo can take it's not easy it has a learning process step by step you have to fall in love with that then only can you [Laughter] [Music] house is being built for building and it's a genuine Collective undertaking regeneration is involved and they all know how to work bamboo everything is used and nothing is thrown away [Music] what are they doing there what they're doing here is spitting the bamboo all right and you can see they are going to make it into a flat one this is the flooring this also it will be made into a the wall weaving it okay into the wall this is a technique which is not only not it is common to all tribals of Northeast India everyone will do it because this is one of the most sustainable flooring system or Walling system you can get okay okay now he's go to the next one see the node the no D breaks here and it goes right to the Nets next node it's splitting more and more because the bamboo has long fibers unlike wood wood has got short fiber the bamboo has long fiber because of the fiber the tensile of bamboo is very very good they have taken the split bamboo and made it into a floor that way so this is got the tensile right and it's got a spring emotion so you're not actually work walking on hard concrete floor you walk the feet on the bottom of your feet you have nerve endings right that gets massaged so foot massage yeah then the tying you can see the tying is being done with cane with this this is the the skin of the bamboo they will use it as a rope but it needs to dry yes and the more the tight the more drier it gets the tighter it'll become I see honey working hard everything is tied together like that as it is okay and they will use the tree the palm tree leaf so those yeah they will use that and it is very good for waterproofing it's all local resources Everything grows right here now if you look at the foundation it's not very deep Foundation it's a light Foundation you can tell they don't have to dig very deep they will go in this much into the ground yeah about one foot down right now you can see that they have cut the U shape I will use it so they can fix other pieces of bamboo inside how long does it take them to build a house like this this one will take about two days two days so is that all that's all complete two days wow so if you're going to get married and you want to shift in with your wife to a new house for your honeymoon they will build it for you two days only for you too just don't make a racket huh fantastic foreign [Music] good evening good evening so you're all dressed up yes it's our feast day dress it's very beautiful really really nice yeah can we see the house it looks superb from here go inside it's brand new come on go on go right in okay okay I'll take a look you're welcome can I go in Billings house is finished according to tradition all of the villagers gather for a ceremony it's great here all around the fire we do it again [Music] [Music] Roblox [Music] we have much to learn from the lifestyle of the Audi they have managed to turn their isolation into a real strength by taking advantage of bamboo [Music] with this material alone natural long lasting and sustainable they have adapted to their environment [Music] [Music] for them Bamboo is more than the material condition of their existence it's also Central to an authentic way of life more respectful of Nature and of mankind [Music] [Music] my name's philipsime I'm a philosopher and I'm interested in what architecture can tell us about our lifestyles I'll take you to explore some of the most remarkable habitats on the planet in order to discover their meaning and to share their ridges [Music] foreign [Music] Burkina Faso in West Africa 172 kilometers south of its capital wagadugu here in the village of tibili which has 17 000 inhabitants we find the Royal Court of the casino an ethnic group settled on the territory shared with Ghana 16th century the real court has been the casino People's Center of political and religious power thank you this is where the crown princes and their families live it is their job to arbitrate disputes between the inhabitants of neighboring Villages and to ensure Traditions are respected [Music] the architecture of this court is fascinating with its differently shaped mud Huts painted and decorated with colorful motives this organic cluster covers 1.5 hectares and is rich in meaning and symbols more than a simple dwelling it is a link between the various generations of casena to find out more I'm meeting Cyril one of the crown princes welcome Phillip thank you are you well yes very well thank you okay hello everyone is this the entrance to the Royal Court this is the main entrance to the Royal Court you can see the layout each Village has a stone reserved to sit on when invited by the Chiefs that means we can't sit where we like no we can't sit where we like this is reserved solely for notables of the Royal Court the older people in the Royal Court okay here is for princes and Chiefs only princes princes and Chiefs it's very impressive come with me very well [Music] live traditionally growing rice and Millet raising animals and hunting but nowadays Tivoli is mainly known for its crafts [Music] this Royal Court is confusing with its group of Huts in no apparent order its enclosed spaces turned in upon themselves and its narrow winding streets it resembles a maze I'm having trouble understanding its overall plan who is present and what is happening here how is this Royal Court organized this Royal Court is organized into concessions and within a concession there are several households yes and each household has several houses inside these houses are the grandparents the women the children the nephews the cousins the brothers all that makes a household so a household is a group of Huts which house people of the same family right you can recognize it more easily from the entrance Gates here this is a household it's magnificent [Music] this is all one household it's all one household what's lovely here is seeing that the Huts don't have the same shape at all when you're young and after your 18th birthday you make a round Hut and that shows that you're a bachelor so you stay in a cram Tut just enough to live in when you think about marriage you build a rectangular house where you can live with a wife and children and on the other side is a figure eight shaped house where grandma lives and this mother house is the guardian of certain Family Treasures and fetishes does that mean the space is organized around this mother house necessarily because it's the very first house to be built and it houses everything that we deem precious all the houses cluster around this house it has a figure of eight shape you need to be above the house to see it if you're not above you can't see the layout no the architecture of the Royal Court is reminiscent of a fortress originally it was meant to protect the inhabitants from inter-ethnic conflicts as well as from any wild animals at large in the region today it is still surrounded by high walls forming an enclosure that is difficult to cross this same protective mindset is also found in the dwellings to enter them you must pass through a single cramped opening less than one meter in height you really have to bend yeah get down on all fours as we say this is astonishing yes and it goes on we must kneel here too yes we always have to kneel yes we always come in on all fours and it's not as easy it's a means of protection is that why it's complicated see where the door is opposite the wall if the enemy wants to enter the house he must get down on all fours the head of the household takes up his initial defense position and stands here and then he waits once the person the enemy shows his head he cuts it off it falls here it could be a wild animal that would eat humans it's impossible to get in even for the arrows strategy you see this wall the arrow can't get past in a war if they fire arrows from outside the arrows hit this wall and fall it's a very clever system because in fact there is a sequence of entrances that Force Intruders to show themselves exactly the posts and beams aren't these load-bearing walls we have two types of construction in fact construction with mud bricks right which can bear that weight and construction with needed mud balls this is the ancient technique because this is an old house house is built of needed mud balls were among the very first constructions so by building with needed mud balls The Architects put in the beams which hold the struts and above the struts we did planks and above the planks now we'll put some Earth to make a roof Terrace to make a roof Terrace [Music] the dark confined nature of the rooms explains why the casena people's life is mainly spent outside they meet up and cook together every day in the courtyard the real living area and sleep on the rooftop Terraces all this gives the public spaces an extremely Lively character and an opportunity for discussion and sharing okay and there are systems of stairs leading to to the roof they can be earthenware stairs or wooden ladders this is a letter that's a ladder for climbing up to a roof Terrace it's a wooden ladder can I see yes no problem all right so we can put a mat here to sleep on that's for sleeping and also just after the Harvest we have to find a place to dry it so it's preferable to put the Harvest on the Terrace than in the courtyard this is great we have a view of the whole of the concession yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] the Striking thing in chibili is less the diverse shapes of the dwellings than the variety of their composition the Royal Court is a dynamic architectural collection that evolves in lines with changes within the family and their needs new Huts are built While others wait to be reclaimed I visit one of the construction sites curious to know what building techniques the casena use my cousin yes his name is apolit hello hello are you well fine and you very well thanks is this your home yes my home is under construction it's rectangular are you about to marry yes soon congratulations thank you is that just Earth no it's Earth mixed with straw okay okay it's funny because you can't really see it you can't see straw here yes because you have to pour water on the straw so that it rots in fact okay I was wondering where it came from is it from over there no it comes from the same house which collapsed a long time ago because my parents used to live in it before they went to the mother house that's why it fell down they really are local materials most everything is recycled it's all recycled in fact how long ago did this begin because I can see you've started a wall there when you begin here you have to stop for a while before continuing you need three stages to complete the house with three drying times in fact okay how exactly does it work there are mud balls that we cut and layer one on top of another I saw that you smooth them a little that's right we smooth them the technique is rather like Pottery yes because we're using the same system in fact it's a very interesting system because to raise the wall you don't need a support or foundations you can do it directly like that on the floor for a foundation we can also use stones that were used as a base in fact and now we apply the balls and layers I saw that the base is a little wider than the top it gets Slimmer as it goes up yes as you can see we don't have tree trunks long enough to make roofs with them so the system is that we build this up until the top is like a pyramid in order to find the right size trunks to make the roof and then put them on later that's right does everyone build their home or is it just certain men boy there are Specialists who do this in fact now the other men have to participate too because as you know it's a group project a solidarity project so you can't do it alone that changes everything when it's a labor that you share that's right because it's also a chance for the children to learn building work while they're building so it's the time when a family in a household have a building to do the whole family comes together all those who can who are free they come at the same time it's a way for them to learn how to build so the children watch the adults as they work they observe and often participate so they take part two so they learn young to build various types of Huts yes we in Europe have a very individual but also very distinct relationship with construction because we never build our houses ourselves others do it here what is interesting is everyone takes part in making houses in Africa especially in casena country we don't have any Customs like that because it costs us very dearly to ask someone and to give him money so he builds a house for us and on top of that part of kasana tradition is what we call Family solidarity so once your house is underway everyone pitches in to help and at the same time you take part in the building of your own home that makes you take care of it and also makes the others take care of it too that's what we call urusi this solidarity when we start to build a casana house it's the beginning of the transmission of gasena building know-how earlier I saw the woman singing and the men working is building reserved exclusively for men yes building is reserved for men if you saw a woman to one side singing and shouting that's done to encourage the man to give them strength to work okay and do they take part in the building of the house no they don't take part in building the house however the decoration is their business I see so all the paintings we can see outside the paintings you see are done by the women live just the women just the women so the tasks are shared according to their type that's right okay yeah in Burkina Faso rain is the arch enemy of architecture it not only erodes the concessions land but also the buildings the painted murals have a value Beyond decoration they also work as a protective coating each year between March and April just before the rainy season the women get together and decorate all of the walls in their huts further on in the concession a group of women is busy preparing a wall whose home will be decorated asked other women to help in return she must feed them [Music] the oldest takes charge of the work hello [Music] [Music] oh [Music] I watch as various materials are prepared first the mud plaster which serves as a base [Music] the wall is then covered in laterite a Red Rock powder the women use rollers or feathers to draw the motifs all these stages require a great deal of precision and coordination [Music] hello what are you doing I'm preparing the graphite mixture so this is graphite yes for the paintings and what's that so sorrow does sorrow help you fix the black color foreign yes in a way it's what we mix with the graphite to fix it on the laterite when you polish it it hardens and resists the rain look it resists well I see yes it's sticky yes it's becoming a tiny bit more solid this is the fixative just for the graphite or for the laterite too it's just for the graphite the black we use talc for the white color we buy it in Ghana because there's none here do you have to wait for the wall to dry before you start painting we don't have to wait until it's completely dry it still has to be fresh for the color to take on the laterite yeah if the wall is too dry the paintings will wash away with the first reins that means the preparation of the walls the coating and the paint must be done in one day yes it all must be done in one day we scrape we dampen we put on the various Coatings then we can do the decorating it all must be done in one day come on we'll give them room to paint right it's great to see all these women working together do the women always help each other each time you build a house the reason all the women come to help me paint is that some are coming to learn they want to understand the painting techniques as well as the preparation techniques every year the girls from the schools here and in other towns come to learn these techniques so that they can apply their know-how at home sometimes white girls even come from Europe they live here very happy [Music] you know it's not just knowledge that you pass on because when I saw you all laughing together I can imagine you talk about lots of things it's not just transmission but a social link as well we talk among women about our various problems in our day-to-day lives that's why these paintings are our identity that of the casino women when you look at this you know that it's the work of Casino women when you live here you understand what's terrific about that wall is that there are several geometric motifs that are repeated do they mean something yes each Motif has a meaning I'll show you okay foreign this one represents the morning drum that wakes the chief these are arrows to remind us of our various conflicts here we have a hawk to remind us that it endangers our chickens and that it can carry one off at any time and this one shaped like a w that's the bat all right what does this bat symbol say it brings fresh air into the house and rids US of insects its wings replace the fan I have the impression that all these symbols are in a way checklists that remind us of the key aspects of casena life it prevents us from forgetting who we are so we remember several lives around these walls if I disappeared hey my children would only have these symbols to remember me by I think that what has been put on this wall is a part of me but above all of what I give of myself right I am moved listening to Kaye much more than just techniques which he transmits is the identity and the memory of casena women [Music] [Music] after the day's work is done the women prepare the meal tonight we will eat toe the national dish of Burkina Faso made up of millet balls with a sesame sauce [Music] sure would you leave it the casena also have oral-based traditions I find the men gathered around the fire to listen to stories another way of passing on their culture and their values to the younger Generations look at it oh wow I love it I'd already seen surreal with his boo-boo it's handsome handsome yes well you are smart and what was his name in Casino I have a Kissena name yes we gave you a name it's korase that's really good [Music] at the end of this trip I understand that casena architecture is not limited to the building itself but it is expressed first and foremost in the act of building the materials techniques and the songs form the foundations of social bonds they find unity in Building Together both in space and in time [Music] you gave me the hardest one ke oh I could do better [Music] I did that one [Music] my name is Felipe C May I'm a philosopher and I'm interested in what architecture can tell us about our lifestyles I'll take you to explore some of the most remarkable habitats on the planet in order to discover their meaning and to share their riches [Music] foreign the south coast of Iceland a few kilometers away from these black sand beaches from this volcanic soil lie the westmin islands the westmin islands are the Earth's youngest land born just 12 000 years ago this archipelago south of the Arctic Circle receives the full force of the ocean storms and icy cold winds [Music] located at the junction of tectonic plates its volcanic activity is unique in the world out of the 17 Islands making up the archipelago only M.I.A is inhabited and it's Iceland's most important fishing port [Music] how do its 4500 or so inhabitants manage to live in such an unstable and hostile environment foreign [Music] [Music] ER grew up on this island and has witnessed many extreme and often dramatic climactic events Thruster hello hello oh that's a big one [Music] at First Sight laid on the ground the M.A houses appear light and fragile as if directly exposed to the harshness of the climate and environment you really get the impression that the village is set right in the middle of all these Crags that are everywhere that's right Mia is a young Island the oldest parts of the island are only 12 000 years old and the most recent mountain is only 40 years old so it's a young active land and it's quite an adventure to live here look at this for example it's pumice stone it's from lava from the volcano that erupted in 1973. what happened exactly in 1973 on January 23rd the first day of the eruption lava started to flow down towards the village in the houses the eruption lasted five months and 400 homes were buried in lava and Ash it was a major disaster but on the positive side as a result of this the village is more sheltered now and better protected against the severe weather [Music] foreign ER takes me to the lava flow that buried a part of the island and modified its perimeter as well as its landscape [Music] [Music] the lava flow stopped here there you can see the remains of the former water tank of our swimming pool which was located a bit farther down it was completely covered by lava in the last days of the eruption What stopped the lava flow the lava was cooled by sea water through big water hoses [Music] there was a whole Battalion of fire engines dozens of them it was incredible you see how close it is the lava you see there there used to be a plane there before the harbor entrance came close to being completely blocked off the destruction of the harbor would have deprived the inhabitants of their main livelihood luckily the eruption didn't claim any lives despite the violence of the elements most of the inhabitants decided to remain on the island and rebuild not only their homes but also the roads and the public spaces are those the ruins of a house Frozen in lava yes it's incredible it's one of the last remaining houses that used to stand here there are the rebars and the wooden window frames there it's incredible people said that the house was protected by a guardian angel because it still remained standing while lava flowed all around it but it finally collapsed and was swallowed up in its turn and look at this one it's unusual it's a 70s style house you can see everything the sand flow the curtains the wallpaper everything's still there it's disturbing it is surprising that it's still standing after all this time foreign these houses Frozen in lava snapshots of a moment of Life are quite moving they're the painful reminder of a natural disaster but Thruster and the other inhabitants don't look at it this way for them the eruption happened but it's in the past now and it's time to move on hi I've brought back some fish this is Philippe hello pleased to meet you hello aslog Philippe go into the living room I'll bring the coffee through okay okay you were here in 73 can you describe what happened I remember that a few minutes before it happened on January 22nd I was outside with my family enjoying the evening air it was very hot it felt like we were on a Mediterranean island we thought it was just exceptionally good weather we didn't realize the heat was coming from the ground later that evening there was a tremendous earthquake we looked out the window and saw a gigantic wall of fire look the lava spurts are incredibly High the wall of fire was three kilometers long there you can see the eruption taking place well you can see all the Falling Rock s it was very exciting for me in any case it was like an adventure it's magnificent it was strange the police had a hard time keeping people away from the area but when it became necessary to evacuate the island and everybody had to get in boats or head towards the aerodrome it was as if they had rehearsed it it was very well organized to do that most of the inhabitants of the westmin islands were just waiting for one thing to be able to come back home once the schools reopened and things got back to normal again the people returned and resumed their life here on the island I have a hard time understanding how one can live in such a dangerous environment under the constant threat of a volcano erupting or of an earthquake we're quite fatalistic throughout the ages we've lived through a lot of things but they've only made us stronger rather than the opposite when I arrived here on the island I was very much struck by the contrast between the grandiose nature and the modest appearance of the architecture as if it were deferring to the force of the elements yes you're right the environment plays an important role in our lives our priority is our work our family our neighbors the houses come after that [Music] it's a very close-knit family community here but I can tell you that in the end it's the environment that keeps us here that's what bonds us together here in Iceland you can witness the transformation of the landscape from the balcony of your house the land was very flat here was over there and there used to be a plane there now there's a new land a new Mountain [Music] the instability of the environment surrounding these houses overturns our perception of the habitat which is based on the idea of protection and safety [Music] it's beautiful [Music] as I walk on this volcanic soil I realize that here the house isn't a place of Refuge or a protective habitat for the inhabitants of M.A it's just a simple dwelling place that can be destroyed in just a few hours minutes even in order to live here they have no choice but to live in harmony with nature live as one with it and take advantage of what it has to offer [Music] what a great View yes here we're at the summit of the volcano there's the crater well part of it because a whole section broke off and was Swept Away by the lava flow it's that big rock over there near the harbor we call it the Drifter from here you can really see that this volcano is both a destructive and creative Force because it's transformed the entire landscape of the island yes 30 million tons of volcanic matter was ejected from the crater the island expanded by 2.5 kilometers this Zone was completely transformed the neighboring island of surtsy for example came into existence 52 years ago following an eruption as well as two other small Islands but they've since disappeared some people think that certsey Island will remain a small island but others think that it's going to disappear in its turn it's incredible to think that here in Iceland we can actually witness the birth and death of an island [Music] wow [Music] there's still a lot of heat here you can feel the energy the temperature at the Summit is still so hot that we can bake bread here in some spots the temperature of the ground just beneath our feet is 300 degrees her look she's baking bread hi there hello hello are you baking bread yes I'm making rye bread I bury the rye bread dough in a hot spot after 10 hours it'll be ready is something that you started doing after the 1973 eruption or have you always done this Island a lot of people started baking rye bread after the eruption foreign only a few people still continue to do it the grounds cool down now so you really have to climb up to the summit to be able to bake bread okay all right before you go you need gloves can I try it yes thanks it's very hot with a bit of lava okay yes there are a few stones [Music] my inhabitants live in a constant state of uncertainty and have to deal with natural hazards baking your bread in a still hot soil is the sign of the ability to adapt and to use whatever these hazards produce [Music] the hostile environment of this very young land constantly reshaped by the forces of nature still continues to meet their needs [Music] this part of the island for example which was totally transformed by the lava flows is now used as a golf course an unlikely yet wonderful place where Thruster and his nephews are enjoying a game of golf [Music] hello it was small yeah it takes incredible energy to completely rebuild a village that's been almost completely destroyed yeah yes we draw our strength from the mountains the sea and from all this natural beauty around us we're surrounded by energy it's fantastic I get the impression that when you live on land that's as young as this island you're less afraid to start over again this environment challenges us but also makes us stronger because it brings us together it creates a social Bond and motivates us to go on to live on this island is to permanently Brave the four natural elements earth water air and fire which Define our primary relationship with the natural world Elements which since the beginning of time ceaselessly Vie with each other and make a light of man [Music] I'm beginning to think that what keeps the Mia inhabitants here is precisely this instability of nature they find their stability in instability and their place in the shifting order of the elements [Music] Thruster has suggested that I meet Jacob one of his friends who hunts Puffin a bird that icelanders have been eating since the time of the Vikings it's magnificent Jacob spends all his time on the Island's Cliffs on the edge of the Void between the Earth the sky the Sea and the wind like that that's a big one is they have amazing beaks how long have you been hunting puffins I've been hunting puffins every year since the age of nine here on the island we hunt according to our needs no more we're respectful of our environment we're very close to Nature and feel its presence very strongly nature here is varied but when you've noticed since childhood you know where every stone is even during fog or a storm you know exactly where you're walking foreign I prefer being outdoors rather than cooped up inside my apartment there are many ways of being in nature we take home elements from outside to study them there I paint and draw all this as part of the landscape it inspires me very much it's hard for me to understand how one can find one's place in such a changing and uncertain environment here everything can change and be transformed there are sometimes landslides nature can be both dangerous and very beautiful it's the same thing with politics they decide what to do and inform us after the fact just like with nature the hillside can collapse and you notice the damage the next day it's like a house Swept Away in an eruption it's simply gone that's how it is or that you're alive normally whether by instinct or simple logic one tends to keep away from the edge of a void and build far away from the side of a volcano or an area vulnerable to storms but the Mia inhabitants do just the opposite they set up home here they stay here living on such a small island aren't they tempted by the prospect of better Horizons a 70 year old sailor such as Grimmer has he never felt like leaving here and never coming back you've lived through everything earthquakes volcanic eruptions ocean storms don't you find it too harsh living here [Music] came out of the sea we were fishing Herring just at the site of the eruption site Herring were attracted by the Heat we had a problem with the boat a propeller problem and we couldn't move the boat got stuck when the eruption stopped we were sucked into the spiral produced by the Crater and when the eruption started again we were ejected from it that happened several times and yet you've never left here no no no I'll never leave here this is all I know [Music] the M.I.A inhabitants show unfailing determination in their ways of coping with their hostile environment and seem to have learned how to use it to their advantage I decide to pay a visit to the engineer who runs the Island's geothermal plant a perfect example of reactivity in the face of Hazards it seems completely crazy to me that you can live on an island where a volcano can suddenly appear where earthquakes take place and faults appear that fracture the entire Island where there are storms where you see other Islands appear and disappear it's a kind of chaos really we have an expression here benefit from your enemy yeah for example we used the steam emitted by the eruption to heat our homes the eruption produced a large mass of lava with extreme heat and this energy provided heating for the village for 10 years and at no cost but this energy was used up after 10 years you've learned to take advantage of the volcano's natural resources even if it's in the context of a natural disaster what's particular here is that for the first time in the world an eruption took place in an urban Zone that's why this geothermal plant that we built here is unique in the world we would have liked this energy source to last longer but unfortunately it's nature that commands nature command but the Mia inhabitants seem to enjoy it and take advantage of it Cliff climbing or excursions in the archipelago are the main leisure activities here today Jacob and Thruster invite me to launch at the summit of a neighboring Island the Ascension is difficult and we have to climb for almost an hour sometimes with the help of a rope but our efforts are well rewarded The View over Mia is breathtaking [Music] ah so we took the easy route I see is that the heart of them we climb directly up like that in another life maybe but not right now but why did you build a cabin so high up it's the best hunting spot in the whole of the Westman Islands some people stay here for six weeks it's a real Gem of nature I came to the Westman Islands wondering how one could live in a risk situation and prepare for disasters finally I met people who accept natural hazards and adapt to them with pragmatism by braving life on this island which is more completely home to them than the house they live in they found their own personal way of inhabiting an uncertain world [Music] I'm going to get pulverized no no no no but it hurts though doesn't it if you fall from here oh it's fantastic I love this I could do this forever okay let's go

Channel: TRACKS - Travel Documentaries

Views: 343,611

Keywords: Architectural traditions, Authentic experiences, Documentary series, Eco-friendly homes, Hidden treasures, Intricate designs, Lesser-known destinations, Northeast India, Sustainable materials, architectural wonders, bamboo construction, cultural immersion, documentary travel series, hidden treasures, indigenous cultures, lifestyle documentaries, men of the hills, off-the-beaten-path, traditional craftsmanship

Id: VSjXSdgAKnk

Length: 77min 39sec (4659 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 08 2023