I wrote this book if you're interested (See link in description).
Hut in the wet season
Hut after burning down
I left a fire untended for 15 minutes and it burnt down
Salvaging possessions from fire (mostly only pottery survived)
Earlier back in the wet season (before fire, different area)
Clearing land
Digging drainage trench around new hut site
Now in the dry season, making post holes in the ground
inserting posts (1.5 m above ground, 0.5 m below) 4 posts in a 3 x 3 m square
Cutting roof beam
Cutting lawyer cane
Lashing on roof beam
Making a tripod ladder
4 x 3 m long ridge poles
Forming a pyramidal roof
It's a bit less than 3 m tall
Roof edge
Rafters
Frame complete
Palm fronds (cut with stone)
Splitting fronds
Vine for lashing fronds on
Lashing fronds to frame starting at the bottom first
Overlap rows at the corners to form ridge capping
Utilising ladder when it gets too high to reach
Getting too close to thatch from inside soon
So make a roof cap to go on top
Wrap the fronds right around the top to prevent rain getting in
Lift cap using a stick put through a loop on top of the cap
It's heavy and needs to be lifted by sticking one end into the ground
Then put it onto the apex of the roof
Take down ladder when happy with roof
Roof should shed rain well (until it rots/gets eaten by insects)
Here's a walk through of my current area starting with the yam mounds
The burnt hut ruin
(left to right) A kiln, a natural draft furnace made of bricks and a charcoal mound
Path to clearing
The new hut
Transferring inventory to new location
Harvesting yams
The yield is poor because the soil is compacted with little organic material
Some grew on the vine but not much
Storing in hut
Digging fire pit
Making fire with hand drill (yes I'll be careful this time)
This part takes a while, it consists of catching the tinder on fire while adding kindling on top
Ok it's done
Dingo (Australian native dog) howls
Installing forge blower (a larger one with upgraded impeller design, old blower visible in background)
Yam from before
Wrapping it in mud
Put in fire
30 minutes in the coals
Mud breaks off when taking it out
Yam is well cooked (slightly over cooked, will try only 20 minutes next time)
Wash hands before eating
Tastes like a potato, but more starchy. Lots of energy.
Hut in the rain
Sheds rain well
Now back to normal projects once again