Thatched Roofing In Sustainable Rural Development
Rural development
The term rural development naturally, indicates about “Organizing Things” that which in turn results in changing the existing fettle to make it better. Initially the term rural development was entirely relied upon economic change that includes factors for betterment; but now the idea of rural development stretched its arms towards changes in cultural, social, political, economic, technological and also psychological design of society. It is concerned with the enhancement of human capacities, to achieve the goals. The term rural development is of Central interest and is broadly heralded in both the developed and the developing countries of the world. Rural development is generally not confined for a particular betterment or enhancement, it is a terminology that can be seen in many ways and can be widely explained in various aspects. But on the whole, it describes about the improvement in quality of life of people living in rural areas. This involves giving hands to the poor people who seek a livelihood in rural areas not just for developing rural areas but also to put forth the idea of sustainable rural development.
Sustainable rural development
“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”, thus it is mandatory to leave something for our future generation. This is the basic principle of sustainable development. Sustainable rural development is not just aims at improving the quality of life of rural poor, but also enhances their capacities towards community participation, environmental protection, food and shelter security and also sustainable economic growth thereby mooting the members of the community to achieve their full benefit. The principle of sustainable development is far-reaching challenge to cope up with the change. It is a standard rule which binds social, ecological and economic objectives at various scales across the world. In general, sustainable rural development needs some properly defined aggregates of ecological, social and economic capital to be preserved over time. This mainly relies upon development of rural areas through environmental or natural resources than improving them with urban economics, by making a semi - natural environment to natural ones which provides amenities and livelihood values to the rural population. Sustainable rural development aims at improving the art of exploration of resources that are naturally available and use them in our day to day life, thus making the rural living sustainable and economical. One way to make the rural areas more sustainable is thatched roofing. In the rural areas majority of people live in thatched houses even today.
Importance of thatch
The term ‘thatch’ is Anglo-Saxon in origin and is used as roof covering. It can also be described as a vegetable covering. It is one of the traditional and earliest construction techniques by humans. Thus, this style is undoubtedly a true classic ever used. For a traditional and classic appearance for a house it should include materials like shingles or clay, but it is very expensive.
Even though, thatch is not widely used and it is not common design today, it seems to be more beautiful and is worth considering for a truly time-honoured look. Centuries ago, it was most popular one because of its abundance availability of the materials such as water reed, long straw, combed wheat reed, heather, etc. It is broadly utilized as popular roofing material because of the readily availability of materials and also has more benefits which in turn contribute to make this kind of roofing. It is not only the oldest but also one of the best types of roofing. Even though thatch is the oldest form of roofing, it is still in existence, is been in use for last 10, 000 years. Nowadays, it is broadly used on houses, cottages and on converted barns to gain a traditional appearance.
Characteristics of thatch
Thatched roof generally has more benefits compared to other artificial roofing system. Thatch is an ecologically renewable source which is one of the important aspects of sustainability. It provides a unique and an identical look. The main characteristics of thatched roofing is it provides and acts as an excellent insulator in winter and also cool during summer. Thatched roofing is relatively cheap, compared to normal tiled roofing. It also raises the selling price of house that it seems to be a good investment. The lifespan of the thatch depends on various factors such as its condition of roof to shed water, that is related to the pitch of the roof and also the climatic or weather conditions of a particular area, wind and high humidity are also other main factors influencing its life span; the lifespan also is greatly affected by the type of thatch used in construction i. e. for a long straw, life span is 15-20 years.
History of thatch
Thatching is one of the oldest of the existence of building crafts practised in the British Isles today. Between 5000 and 8000 B. C. , the early hunter-gatherers, grabbed the region between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. Since the population rate has increased, the need for the food for their survival has also increased thus, the humans learned how to cultivate and reap plants on their own and also used seafoods for their survival, next major thing for their survival is the place of living i. e. their livelihood. They started to live in caves, log huts, yurts or even under covered branches. Now, the major thing they needed was the light weight housing. Wherein other case, farmers, cattle-breeders or fishermen needed a different type of dwelling and longevity so they started using reed, stick, logs and grass sods as building materials. The properties of reed made as an excellent choice for thatching.
The first thatched roof houses were built in the Germanic settlement area situated in Schleswig-Holstein and the South of Denmark. The first houses were built with one roof and on ridge with openings for fire place that is in the middle of the room. This fire place gives us the warmth and light. The main advantage of these houses is the smoke from the open fire, the concentration of creosote in smoke that resists fire and flying sparks. The smoke dried and conserved boards, beams and reed. Thus, it hardens the timber and protects them from pest infestation. Finally, the smoke is carried away through chinks in walls and through a hole in gable peak. Even though it resists fire, smoky houses are also of a great disadvantage in case of humid air or strong solar heat periods. The roof construction was quite simple, where timbers were served as rafters, branches and sticks as battens. The substructure is fastened with reed. The walls are made of wattle and clay. The mining field paved a way for various construction methods. In 500 BC to 0 BC nails, hoops, bolts and metal fittings helped as new joints for timber construction. The time-owed thatch roof placed a new frame in construction. This idea allowed for extension to build large houses. The size and layout depends on the climate and the number of livestock and are also dependent on the harvest yield and supplies needed.
In 500-1000 AD (Middle Ages), more number of towns came and became centres of politic, economic and religious life. In a course of time, hard roofing was replaced by thatched roof in urban areas. In 1388, the city of Flensburg decided to passed bill for stone roofing, but it was till 1770, Thatched roof kept its importance in country side. Till the middle ages, it was the work of each individual to thatch their own roof and they have linked construction and agriculture together. And farmers know how to thatch and how to repair their own houses.
Thatch as a roofing materials
Thatch is a natural reed and grass that which is properly cut, dried and installed, accepted as a material for construction. Traditionally, thatcher’s use the locally available materials for construction. If in case farmer’s main cultivation is growing wheat, then wheat reed or straw is used for thatching. Palm leaves and coconut leaves are also used as a material for thatching and it is the most commonly used material for thatching in rural areas. Rye, barley and oat straw and even heathers are also used as a thatching material.
In case of a wet low lands, sedge is being used as a traditional thatching material especially for ridging material. The most durable thatching material is water reed which lasts up to 60 years. Since, thatching materials are easily and locally available materials on the land, these raw materials don’t require quarrying or mining. When compared to cement tiled or slated roof, the thatch is less expensive.
Sustainablity of thatch as a building material
In many villages, thatched roofs are still being made, but if they are not supported or encouraged properly, then the future generation may lose people with skills for making thatch roofs and thus we may lose the eco-friendliest roof in the annals of history. Since it is not economical or affordable in case of rural people’s occupational status. Concrete manufacturing creates lot of pollution but the traditional thatch is an eco-friendly material. Where other materials houses fail to provide the thermal comfort, thatched roofs are proven to be thermally efficient for decades. Generally thatched roofs are made of naturally available materials (i. e. ) locally available material. It is easily available and also an economically cheap material for housing. And it is the by-product of the naturally grown plants and vegetation. Thus, it satisfies the recycling aspect of sustainability. A product which originally belongs to the waste category, can be transformed as an eco-friendly construction material for roofing. Thatched roofing is undoubtedly a true classic because it is one of the popular and oldest methods of roofing ever used. Thatched houses generally give an aesthetic look and are a healthy housing to survive. Its main attraction is that it is thermally efficient for living being to survive. A thatched roof will ensure that a building will be cool in summer and warm in winter. It even acts as a sound insulating material. Thus, local materials for constructions are identified based on this performance to prove a co-operative features.
Factors affecting the cost of thatch
The cost of thatched roof depends upon various factors like size, shape and design of roof, material type that is used for thatching a roof, pattern and type of ridge for construction, height of the ridge, height of apex, features used in thatching process, removal of existing thatch roofs if any, thickness of thatch and protective coat if any. These decides the overall cost for thatching a roof and it is a quite low since locally and naturally available materials are only used for this type of construction. Generally, thatches work in measures of 10’ x 10’ i. e. in terms of squares. Each of these costs an average between Rs. 25, 000/- to Rs. 40, 000/- based on the above factor.
Disadvantages of thatch
Even though, thatched roofing seems to be more beneficial in many aspects, especially in case of thermal efficiency, it has few disadvantages too:
- Thatch which is derived from naturally available material is prone to fire, wind, rain and even birds and insects especially weavers.
- As it is the green leaves getting dried catch fire more quickly than other building materials.
- The main disadvantage with thatch roof is the ridge, since it is the vulnerable part of a thatch roof that has to be properly governed.
- Only skilled and practiced thatcher can carry out these construction.
Techniques to overcome the issues in thatch
One can also overcome all these negative issues against a thatched roof by following methods:
- In case, if a thatch is prone to birds or weavers, they can be protected by covering with a plastic mesh or any other by a mesh technology.
- In case of failure of ridge, then it can be overcome by covering with a fibre glass hood or old method of mortar and its apex should be maintained at proper condition to reduce failures and to provide a water tight structure.
- In order to resist the fire in thatched roof, proper fire retarding materials like mud, fly ash, red soil or a mixture of red soil, lime, fly ash; tuffcrete, ceramicrete, grancrete, acrylic stucco, magma TAS fire stop sprays, etc. are to be coated on thatch as a protective coating.
- Wind is being resisted by providing necessary wind clips.
- Waterproofing components like paints helps to resist the water penetration into the house.
Thus, thatch is not only a beautiful, but also a practical and economically beneficial if properly utilized and maintained. It is the most durable and attractive material of the market. Thus, the thesis focus on the development of the traditional rural living by providing a suitable fire retarding for thatched roof. This experimental study mainly focus on the traditional rural roofing system – thatched roof and to find ways to make it more beneficial for the rural people.
