Shelters Around the World

In this unit we learned how people live around the world.

We discovered that even though the homes that people use are very different,

They always offer protection and a place to raise families.

Houses Shaped Like Acorn

Bolivia

The Chipaya people live on a plateau in the Andes at an elevation of 10,000 feet above sea level.

The Chipaya people cut blocks out of this root-bound earth and stack them to build their acorn-shaped houses

Houses That Breathe Through Chimneys

Spain

These underground houses are in Gaudix, Spain.

Our students explained that the white chimneys that stick out of the ground allow the houses to get fresh air.

The Yurts from Mongolia

These homes are called "yurts". They are portable, folding homes for people who live as herders of sheep and horses.

Yurts are set up in places where water is easy to get, and where there is grass for the horses and sheep to eat.

Houses With Upside Down Roofs

Senegal -Africa

These houses are in the Casamance region of Senegal, Africa.

The house in the center of the village collects rainwater inside the home to use as drinking water.

This is because even when wells are dug, the water is salty.

Houses With Pointed Roofs-

Sumba Island- Indonesia

These houses on Sumba Island, Indonesia are made from bamboo and grass.

Livestock, such as water buffalo and pigs, live under the raised floor, and the people live above.

The pointed part of the roof is where the gods are said to live.

Tulou

China

The Tulou is surrounded by a thick dirt wall. It looks as if a huge flying saucer has landed.

It is in the Fujian province of China.

There are as many as three hundred people living in this Tulou.

A House With Eyes in Its Roof

Romania

The  roofs are made of wooden shingles. When you walk through the village, you feel as if someone was always watching you.

The reason is that the house has  eyes on the roofs!

 The openings look just like human eyes complete with eyelids, but are actually holes to let smoke escape.

Eastern Castles

Togo- South West Africa

A house made of mud. On the side of the house people hang animal bones to hunt evil spirits away.

They small cones at the entrance of the house represent each family member that lives inside.

Animals are kept on the first floor, and people live upstairs.

Living Underground

Tunisia- North Africa

If you climb a small hill and look down at the village of Matmata, there are many holes that look like craters on the moon.

These holes are actually houses.

The bottoms of the holes are the courtyards of the houses, and the holes dug off to the sides of the courtyards are rooms.

Houses Wearing Hats

India

This house is in the Kutch region of India.

Its roof is firmly tied down with rope so that it does not blow away in the wind.

The grass roof and the earthen walls block the heat outside.

For Our Projects we read the book: Houses Around the World

By Yoshio Komatsu
Illustrated by Akira Nishiyama