Housing and Architecture

The traditional housing is basically a mud hut constructed from a frame of eucalyptus wood packed with mud mixed with straw. These constructions range from small huts with no windows and only one or two rooms to quite large ‘cottages’ with windows. They are often located in groups – small compounds and cooking and other domestic activity is carried out in the yard. On the way back from Azezzo, I noticed a different type of housing more along the lines of small villas – Meleshew said they were Italian buildings left over from the occupation.

There are also some quite outstanding villas obviously belonging to people with money but I have yet to establish who they are. There is also the type of housing that I live in – more modern and though it has a tin roof, the construction is probably of breeze block (given the construction going on next door). This housing is low rise with yards/gardens – again a lot of domestic activity will take place in the yard despite being equipped with a kitchen and bathroom.

Then there is the enormous amount of building going on up and down the main road in and out of Gonder. Each day I pass one construction site that is all but obliterating the beautiful hills behind it. When I first arrived it was approximately two storeys high. They seem to be getting ever higher, some are up to 4 storey’s high. There are a large number of them. It resembles a local authority housing estate under construction. I asked Mulat about it today and he confirmed my fears. These buildings are being put up to cope with the increasing population and increased cost of land in the area. They are ‘condominiums’ which will be rented or leased and are self contained units. Presumably, this means they will contain a kitchen and bathroom. Domestic activity will become individualised.

I can’t help but feel this is not a good long term development.

Driving to Azzezo today, I saw a lot of similar developments along the road. I also saw a lot of buildings that had been completed and the ground floors let for commercial purposes but the flats themselves were empty. At the end of my ‘street’ (I must photograph that), there is a small building which I think was built as an hotel – again it is empty. I see a lot of modern buildings which are empty. I suspect that they are too expensive for the majority of Ethiopians to rent or lease and wonder what will happen when these new ones are built.

Whilst the construction itself is providing employment at the present time, unless there is more industrial or agricultural expansion, there could be a massive problem of raised expectations that can’t be met. Add to this a rapidly increasing population and massive expansion of educational opportunities and it could lead to a very disaffected generation of young people.