Hundred-year-old samu-roofed roofs

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NGHE AN – People in Long Thang village, Hanh Dich commune (Que Phong district) split wood from safflower trees for roofs on stilts, which are still durable after hundreds of years.

Located in the border area of ​​Que Phong district, Nghe An, Long Thang village is home to 98% of the Thai ethnic group, with 199 households and 876 people.

Surrounding the village are majestic mountains, winding roads. Besides the concrete works, there are also houses on stilts on the roof that are roofed with safflower panels.

The house with a thatched roof made of samu wood has a history of about 100 hundred years ago, experiencing changes in time until now, about 50 houses still keep the original structure.

Mr. Lo Van Viet, Chairman of Hanh Dich commune, said that Long Thang village was established in 1969, but decades ago, people came here to live. Due to the scarcity of materials, they cut the safflower tree to build a house on stilts. At that time, in Que Phong forest, this species of tree was abundant and was not banned from exploitation.

“Now that the State has strict management measures, people no longer exploit materials in the forest to build houses,” said Mr. Viet.

The house on stilts has an area of ​​​​about 100-120 m2, built mainly from wood. Although the roof is made of samu wood, the sesame rafters still have a normal structure like that of a tile.

Recently, many people in Long Thang village, when building a new house, have kept the “tiles” made of samu wood from the old house to preserve the old features.

According to Mr. Vi Van Thu, a resident of Long Thang village, Hanh Dich commune, thatch is made of samu wood with the size of 40×80 cm. In the past, when building a house, his father mobilized family members to use manual saws to cut wood.

Hanh Dich and 8 other communes of Que Phong district are located in Pu Hoat Nature Reserve, with 85,200 ha. This is one of the three core areas of the Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve with a large area of ​​primary forest and high biodiversity. At this conservation area, there is still a population of samu oil trees distributed in the majestic natural forests running along the Vietnam – Laos border in the areas of 3 communes Nam Giai, Hanh Dich and Tri Le, 1,200 – 1,800m high. with sea level.

The tree has the largest diameter of 3.7m and a height of 60m. The remaining average diameter is 2m; nearly 50m high. These trees are thousands of years old.

The house on stilts is structured on two floors, the upper part is used for living. The lower floor is the ground or cement floor, where vehicles or farm tools are located…

The roofs are made of samu wood, after decades of turning brown, many “tiles” of green moss cling to it.

Samu oil belongs to group 1A (rare plant species) is wood with beautiful grain, easy to process and especially resistant to rain and sun. The wood exudes a soothing aroma, with essential oils that repel mosquitoes.

Ms. Quang Thi Nam, a resident of Long Thang village, said that in the past, when building houses, people in the village often used small pieces of samu wood to make stairs up and down, or fill in the missing positions of the work.

“The house on stilts is designed with samu wood, which is very cool and does not get damaged by termites. I often bring my children to sit in front of the veranda to enjoy the wind,” said Mrs. Nam.

The second floor of the house is arranged with tables and chairs, a wardrobe, a bed. At the end is the kitchen corner to place the dining table, cooking utensils.,. The floor is paved with safflower or some other wood, which also has long-term durability.

On the inside, the “tiles” of samu wood retain the same fresh color as when it was first sawn from a large tree. According to people, safflower roofing can be used for about 300 years.

In the Hanh Dich commune, in addition to agricultural production and animal husbandry, people also do more traditional occupations such as brocade weaving, rattan and bamboo weaving for a decent income.

In their leisure time, they put brocade weaving tools on the lower floor of the house on stilts and work.

To protect the roof, many families have bought corrugated iron sheets to cover the roof. In addition, some damaged apartments have been replaced with tile roofs.

Previously, to enter Long Thang village, you had to go by dirt road, now the inter-village roads in this area have been concreted.

On the occasion of the New Year 2022, plum flowers bloom on the roofs of samu wooden houses in Long Thang village.

The Chairman of Hanh Dich commune added that the commune had the resolution to preserve the old houses in Long Thang village to associate with the development of community tourism. If there is no epidemic, every year about 4,000 visitors come here to visit and learn about cultural values.

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