- Title: Jordanian builds mud house, dipping into past to save the future
- Date: 27th August 2019
- Summary: MAFRAQ, JORDAN (AUGUST 24, 2019) (REUTERS) JORDANIAN MAN WHO BUILT MUD HOUSE, HAMAD NAZZAL, OPENING GATE AND WALKING TOWARD MUD HOUSE ROOM INSIDE MUD HOUSE MUD HOUSE CEILING CEILING / ROOM IN HOUSE ROOM IN MUD HOUSE LANTERN HUNG ON WALL VARIOUS OF CLAY UTENSILS IN HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JORDANIAN MAN WHO BUILT MUD HOUSE, HAMAD NAZZAL, SAYING: "We have been working on this house for four years and we are building it with simple, local components including soil and straw." VARIOUS OF ROOMS IN HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JORDANIAN MAN WHO BUILT MUD HOUSE, HAMAD NAZZAL, SAYING: "It's not a trend to be environment-friendly. To be honest, you cannot be a friend to yourself unless you are a friend to the land and environment. The components of the substances that we are currently using had been used by our ancestors thousands of years ago because it is proven that these materials are the only, real, optimum incubator for humans." MODERN HOUSE ADJACENT TO NAZZAL'S MUD HOUSE VARIOUS OF STRAW AND OTHER COMPONENTS THAT GO INTO MAKING MUD HOUSE FAMILY TAKING VIDEO OF MUD HOUSE EXTERIOR OF MUD HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) NAZZAL'S NEIGHBOUR, NIDAL ABU QAMAR, SAYING: "To be honest, this house is much better than the house I live in. After this house is finished up and decorated, as a concept it will be a better place to live than a modern house. It will last hundreds of years, it can last up to 100, 200 or 300 years." EXTERIOR OF MUD HOUSE WINDOW SYRIAN MAN LIVING IN MAFRAQ, YOUSEF AL ZOUBI, WALKING TOWARD MUD HOUSE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN MAN LIVING IN MAFRAQ, YOUSEF AL ZOUBI, SAYING: "I have no problem (residing inside a mud house). The mud house is cold in the summer and it is warm in the winter. It is beautiful, so I have no problem living in a mud house." EXTERIOR OF MUD HOUSE NAZZAL PREPARING TEA NAZZAL PUTTING DOWN CUP OF TEA AND WALKING TO MINT PLANT VARIOUS OF NAZZAL COLLECTING MINT FACADE OF MUD HOUSE / FLOWERS
- Embargoed: 10th September 2019 13:42
- Keywords: mud houses mud houses in Jordan environmentally-friendly project environmentally friendly houses environmentally friendly construction environmental awareness in Jordan
- Location: MAFRAQ, JORDAN
- City: MAFRAQ, JORDAN
- Country: Jordan
- Topics: Environment,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001ATZUZX1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Surrounded by modern buildings and upscale homes on all sides, stands a mud house built in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, delivering a tangible reminder on the need to protect the environment.
It was four years ago that Hamad Nazzal began building the 220-square-metre house, picking mud as his material of choice to avert the environmental risks of modern construction practices and techniques.
Driven by the need to build his home in an eco-conscious way, Nazzal looked to the past for answers, learning from the building techniques of his forefathers.
Nazzal built most of the mud house himself, adding that weather conditions during the winter repeatedly delayed the construction.
Building a mud house costs only half of the cost of building a modern house, according to Nazzal, who is hoping this could be another reason for Jordanians to pick up this type of construction.
Nazzal himself lived in a mud house growing up and the house he built in Mafraq has reminded him of some of his most cherished childhood memories.
The initial plan for Nazzal was to live in the mud house but he is considering turning it into an eco-friendly hotel.
(Production: Mohammad al-Ramahi and Muath Freij) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None