Homes and Huts in Kiribati

Traditional I-Kiribati Homes and Huts

The photos that follow are a few examples of some of the traditional huts and homes.  Some  are just pieced together using corrugated metal roofing for walls or what ever is available.  Others are made of cinderblock or cement blocks, several families have chose to build western ranch style homes.

Framework for a Traditional home

Note how the Y shaped wooden support posts use to hold the horizontal poles in place

The roof trusses (diagonal are lashed together  to the horizontal limbs - using coconut string to lash the structure together.  The horizontal cross beams are also lashed in place to provide additional strength to the roof structure.  The poles will be trimmed (sawed off) before attaching the thatched roof on to the frame

The posts are made from wood from the trunk of coconut and pandanus trees and then lashed together with string made from the fibers of coconut husks.  The wall is made from the mid-ribs of coconut branches.  A home may have many windows but no glass in them but instead curtains woven from coconut leaves.  The blinds are used when it is rainy, very sunny, or windy.  The thatch on the roof is made from pandanus leaves.  Coral rocks are used for the floor and then covered with large mats woven from coconut and pandanus trees.


There are a variety of traditional homes some with two stories, raised floors, and no walls at all.  

Furniture, like chairs, tables or beds is rarely used by the I-Kiribati.  They sleep on the floor on mats woven from pandanus leaves.  They use kerosene lamps.  Some houses have concrete block walls with metal roofs.  There are rain gutters to collect drinking water when it rains.  But most of the time they use shallow wells to obtain water.

Cooking on a grill using copra (which is similar to charcoal briquettes are made from dried and crushed coconut shells

Note the hut in the background uses Coral rocks to support the horizontal beams

It has floor about 2 feet off the ground made by using small branches lashed together over support logs.  These huts are comfortable for sleeping with the breeze blowing above and below you

Manse hut

It often takes up to 150 pandanus branches to cover a roof

Comfortable home with a small patio

Often homes are built in clusters of three - one for general living, one for cooking, and one for storage.

A few traditional homes with one under construction in top left
(note how the thatch mats are beginning to be placed on the roof structure)

Small village with part of  a maneaba shown on the right side of photo

Village Maneaba at a resort site we visited in Bikeman Island (see post in December)

House on stilts

Several types of huts house used by an extended family 

Christmas Island - Thatched roof - pandanus mats also cover the lower walls for privacy

Traditional village

Most villages range in size from 10 to 120 dwelllings

Many huts are pieced together with what ever is available
such as corrugated steel that would normally be on a roof

Coconut or pandanus leaves are braided around mid-ribs to provide privacy

Most I-Kiribati don't worry much about privacy, they would rather have the breeze flow in the homes.This particular fence is at the Tiwanese' aquarium where they grow milk fish to feed the pigs and chickens