In a cyclone-prone area, fishermen and agricultural farmers build circular houses which nestle closely to form clusters. The shape and the positioning help the houses battle against the raging winds. In Andhra, it is locally referred to as “Chuttillu” which means a round house (illu stands for house)

The house consists of an inner circular room and is enveloped by another circular space that serves as the kitchen on one side and a store at the other end. The grain for the family’s annual consumption is stored in the inner room in clay urns. The family sleeps outdoors during the summer. There is also a cooking area or vantasala just outside the house. There is sometimes a shelter or aedul bandi jaaga for the bullock cart. A house will have a large container made with twigs or bamboo and mud for storing unhusked rice or dhanyam.

The walls of the house are built in mud by the cob wall technique i.e. earth is mixed with water thoroughly to form the right consistency. Then, balls of mud are placed into a trench and the wall is built up from there. At a time, i.e. in one day, only 2 feet of wall may be erected. It is allowed to dry, before the next 2 feet is built on the following day. Palmyra timber is used for rafter; palmyra thatch for the roof or Kaapu, and lime wash or Sunam for the walls. There is a flat mud & timber roof or Midhe which protects the belongings in case of a fire, and the sloping thatch roof above it, which provides rain protection

A mud house with an innovative truss roof and incorporating a toilet and ferrocement shelves within was first built at BCT in Visakhapatnam. Later, in 2003, the team of masons & carpenters from the same village built a mud house in Dakshinachitra, a heritage museum in Chennai.

<< Back a plan