Factors Prompting Changes in Development General Types of Buildings and Their Construction

143 12 Development Projects—Buildings, Roads, and Airfields

12.1 Factors Prompting Changes in Development

Over the years, the common agents of change i.e., government, mission, and business have brought in new techniques, opportunities, know-how, and financial resources. All of these have had a bearing on the Rotokas people and their own activities. Mission personnel from other Pacific Islands brought their style of constructing roof caps, weaving floor mats, and dress, to name a few. Mission Aviation Fellowship brought local aviation to the island and with it, the necessity of airfield construction and maintenance. The government relocated villages and rearranged traditional patterns of village layout. It provided technology through carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc., whose skills were passed on to Rotokas men with whom they worked. The mining company gave opportunities for training in welding, auto mechanics, operation of heavy equipment, bookkeeping, management, and many other trades. With its financial resources and equipment, it built roads and trained Bougainvillians to do the same. Expatriate-owned plantations brought in new strains of cocoa and agricultural techniques. Many opportunities opened up after World War II and growth has especially accelerated since the early 1970s. Some of the changes brought on by the new technology will be evident in the following sections on buildings, roads, and airfields.

12.2 General Types of Buildings and Their Construction

Several different types of buildings found in the Rotokas area of Bougainville island are described in the following paragraphs: There are others, but the list will provide an idea of what buildings are considered the most important and, therefore, are the most commonly found in or near any Rotokas village. Trade stores Not traditional, but very common today, are the trade stores that range in size from tiny rooms, barely large enough for both the storekeeper and customer, to those with dimensions four by six meters or larger. Some are run by one family, two to three brothers, or a small group within a single clan. Construction of the trade store differs from a residential building, mainly in terms of security. Walls are made of corrugated iron, fibro cement, or milled timber. Not many store owners are content with woven bamboo, unless the building is constructed up off the ground on tall posts. Corrugated iron roofing material is used to insure against damage to the storegoods by rain. Cupboards, shelves, and counters are included in the construction plans. [See pictures of trade stores in section 11.6.] Large general store Until the late 1970s, large stores belonging to business groups were not commonly seen. With the advent of cooperatives or shareholdings, more capital was available for larger, more-permanent construction. In the village of Togarao in the middle of the former airfield, a large general store was constructed. A large cement slab, about seven meters by ten meters, was poured one section at a time. An additional slab was poured to hold the 8,000 liter fiberglass water tank. Milled timber was used for all of the framing and the work was accomplished with the help of power tools electricity provided by the village 3 KVA Yanmar diesel generator. Plans were roughed out and a skilled Rotokas carpenter was put in charge. The roof is corrugated iron cut to length at a new facility near Arawa. The walls are of fibro with louver windows. Iron-reinforced wire covers the windows to protect against theft. Both fluorescent and incandescent lighting is used. One very bright floodlight illuminates the entire front of the store. Inside, glass cases hold merchandise. Clothes are hung on racks from the walls, and shelves along the walls carry lightweight objects or cans of food. In the back of the store is a freezer, which holds frozen chicken and a variety of soft drinks. In separate rooms behind the main portion of the store is the storage area and an office. There are heavy locks on all doors. Large stores, like the one described above, are found in larger villages or along the coastal road. One well- kept store belongs to the Seventh Day Adventist community near Asitavi. Another store near the Wakunai airfield belongs to the Catholic Church and is managed by the Parish Council. Interestingly enough, two 144 United Church men have been the storekeepers for years. This store is only yards away from the site of one of the first general stores in the area. When we arrived in 1965, the Kiviri store was operated by NumaNuma Plantation personnel. Later the post office was established in the same building. One of the larger stores in the area, located in Wakunai on the coast road, belongs to a Buin man who has married Rotokas women. His name is John K. and his store is well known. Petrol gasoline and diesel fuel are sold and the Wakunai Post Office is now a part of the store building. This building is of permanent material, two story with living quarters above and a large storage space for bulk items. Many of the village trade stores are stocked from his wholesale service. Bakeries Having been introduced to the kerosene-drum oven by government Community Development staff or mission personnel, the interest in the bakery business has gained a toe hold. We have seen fine baked products produced and sold by the Togarao bakery. When the initial enthusiasm was high, a building was designed and constructed solely for the purpose of baking and selling bread and sweet rolls. The “oven” was mounted on a cement form poured in place; a chimney was placed through the roof of corrugated iron, a table for mixing the dough, and a counter for selling the products were all included in the design. The popularity of bakeries comes and goes with the availability of ingredients. At one stage, yeast was not available except through the commercial bakery in Kieta, which produced the bread known as Kieta Crust The Bread You Can Trust. Poultry house With day-old chicks becoming available in Lae, and delivered by Air NiuGini to Kieta, interest in raising meat birds gained momentum around the island. Individuals might construct a small shelter about two meters square, usually with adjoining pen, using chicken wire. The walls of the shelter itself are usually of woven bamboo matting and the roof of sago palm thatch. There is concern for dogs, rats, and snakes which take their toll; however, the additional effort and material needed to assure the birds’ complete safety is not usually thought worthwhile. Two much larger poultry houses were built in the Rotokas area, one near Ruruvu and one near Togarao. The second was designed and built by John T., a trained Rotokas agricultural officer didiman from Togarao. John’s idea was to teach young people of Togarao to successfully manage a poultry project from start to finish. The building had a corrugated iron roof, woven bamboo walls, and dirt floor covered with grass clippings or straw. It was divided into two parts; one for newly-acquired chicks and the second for the more developed birds. The difference in feed, necessary protection, temperature requirements, etc. prompted John to design the building as he did. Three walls were bamboo matting from floor to roof. The fourth wall was open at the top with chicken wire stretched across the open area. Having raised chickens as a young farm boy myself, I was quite impressed with the setup. Commercial feed was brought in and the birds were to be butchered and frozen or sold fresh in the nearby village store. The project was just getting under way when we left. John did not have the support of the older men in the village, and so it was going to be an uphill struggle to succeed. A second large poultry house was built near Ruruvu. It was to be a project of the Youth Group. Although the building and setup seemed initially quite adequate, apparently a difficulty arose. The last we saw of it, the pens were empty and the facilities needed repair. Movie theater For a short while in the village of Togarao, there was a building which had been erected for the purpose of showing 16 mm sound movies. The building was about ten meters long and three meters wide. The floor was dirt, walls were bamboo matting, and the roof was sago palm thatch. The village generator provided the power to run the projector, which was locally owned and operated. It was unfortunate that one of the devastating wind storms came through before the business was really established. The roof was severely damaged and never adequately replaced. This building subsequently served as a garage and then a rather makeshift bakery for a short period only. A commercial movie house located beside the coastal road at Wakunai shows Hollywood-type films for the entertainment of local people and plantation workers alike. This and a large general store nearby were constructed of permanent building materials. The operation is owned by a business man from another part of the island. Because of the lack of power and projection equipment in most villages, this type of building is not very common. 145 Tavern I have seen only two buildings constructed solely for the sale and consumption of beer in the Rotokas area. There may be more along the coastal road. The larger of the two is located along the road from the coast up into the Aita area. Several kilometers into the hills one rounds a bend in the road and sees a building of permanent materials. Metal signs naming the brands of beer available are fastened over the doors. A chain-link fence surrounds the premises. Neither my traveling companions nor I know much about the business, but by way of reputation, we assumed that the owner was doing a good business. The second tavern has been on-again off-again in the village of Ruruvu. Strong pressure from local Christians has kept it from developing into a business as large as that in the Aita area described above. This building was built of bamboo matting with dirt floor and a sago palm thatch roof. Inside, benches were built in place. In the early 1980’s, at the time of the revival within the church, the liquor business was put on ice. However, some say that there is new interest in it at present. It could be that the Ruruvu tavern is in use again. School buildings The expense of constructing school buildings depends, in part, on whether or not the school is a government school or a church school, and if the latter, the denomination of the church. When we first came, The main government primary school was located in Wakunai. It had dirt floors, bamboo walls, and corrugated iron roofing. Not long after, the buildings were upgraded and cement floors and fibro cement walls were constructed. In the villages, the early schools were all of native materials. Desks and benches were built of hand-hewn planks. Blackboards and chalk were brought in from the coast. Village workdays were scheduled for repairs to the roof, benches, teacher’s house, etc. The Voko School near Ruruvu later became a jointly-operated government-church school. A long slab of cement was poured and a building with all classrooms end-to-end on the cement was constructed by a paid carpenter. Parents helped where they could. The walls are of fibro cement and roof of corrugated iron which makes for a very hot classroom. Window panels open up to allow light and air to enter, along with the sounds from the adjacent classrooms. At this school, several of the teacher’s houses are of permanent materials, including screened-in louvered-glass windows. The school setting pictured in section 9.3.3 is a SDA facility near Nupatoro. The structures are nicely built and include a large covered area for gatherings. The teacher’s house is built of cement block. Glass windows and indoor water supply make it quite comfortable. Church buildings The construction of churches, regardless of denomination, seems to give opportunity for creative genius to be demonstrated. Most churches in 1965 were built of native materials. What they did with these materials was quite unique, compared with other buildings. There were two churches in Togarao in 1965, Roman Catholic and Methodist. All village men and women together helped construct the buildings without too much concern for theological differences. This might suggest that the construction of any public building is a social event. Unique shapes of windows in churches The early churches had bamboo walls and sago palm thatch roofs. The walls were started about ten centimeters from the earth floor to allow for ventilation. Windows were uniquely shaped using rattan vine for the outline. Some of these shapes are illustrated above. 146 The front of the church usually had a low platform with speaker’s podium. The podium could have been crudely constructed, or crafted of polished, carved wood. In some churches, there were strips of bamboo in a lattice work above the speaker’s area. The rafters of a Ruruvu church were decorated with planks on which designs were painted. Some had altar railings and stands for flowers andor candles. The SDA church in Nupatoro had a foyer or back “entrance hall” and a raised, wooden floor. The Roman Catholic church in Togarao had separate small rooms near the front for artifacts of the church. More recently, at least in the Rotokas area, churches have been constructed of permanent materials. The Togarao United Church building has a cement floor, hardboard masonite lined walls and ceiling, fluorescent lights, elevated platform of milled timber, and two podiums one for delivering the sermon and the other for everything else. In the original plan, a separate room in the back was to be provided for the Upe initiates. The wall was to come up to within a meter or less of the ceiling to provide for privacy. In the end, the thought was discarded and the boys were allowed to sit at the back of the room. Second-hand folding chairs were purchased. Otherwise, wooden benches, kerosene drums, and the floor provided for seating. Just outside the church is the grave of an old churchman who, years ago, allowed the first Methodist missionaries to teach the Gospel to the Rotokas people. The church is named The Rausira Memorial Church. An even larger United Church building in Ruruvu was constructed and dedicated in the early 1980’s. This church [pictured in section 9.3.2] is known as the David Voeta Memorial Church. His story was already told in section 9. A Catholic church was constructed of permanent materials in Karaoturi, a largely Catholic village below Ruruvu. It appeared to have a tower of sorts built over the front of the building, perhaps inspired by the large bell tower at the front of the church at Asitavi Mission station, near Wakunai. Aid Post buildings Medical buildings, in general, were discussed in chapter 10. Once again, there has been an improvement from well-made, but not entirely satisfactory, native material buildings, to more hygienic permanent buildings. Government standards and styles dictate the size, shape, and layout of these buildings, for the most part. An exception is the medical building in Togarao where bush medicine is administered. Cocoa fermentaries The layout of the typical fermentary is dictated by the curing process required of dried cocoa. If a suitable slope can be found, the wooden cases into which the wet beans are first poured are located on a covered platform at the highest point. From there, as the beans are stirred and relocated, they are poured downwards into the next case below. Eventually, the last case is poured onto the drying wire located at the bottom of the slope. Cocoa fermentery at Kavorivi The drying frame itself must be sufficiently elevated to provide space underneath for the heating pipes. These are mounted on cement forms poured in place. The pipes end in a chimney which extends up above the corrugated iron roof. Keeping the drying beans from the rain and cool night air is a major consideration. The picture of Kavorivi fermentary will give an idea of a functionally designed building. Depending upon the capital available, the walls are made of bamboo matting or corrugated iron. The roof is nearly always iron because of the fire hazard and need for protection against rains. The finished construction is required to be 147 inspected and licensed in order to maintain some quality control within the Province. The building is almost always constructed near a roadway and usually will serve several nearby cocoa growers. Copra smokehouse Compared to cocoa fermentaries, copra-drying buildings are much less carefully constructed, possibly because they are so vulnerable to fire. The necessity of containing a smoldering accumulation of coconut husks under the drying copra means that corrugated iron is required. Very few smokehouses start out with new sheets of iron. It is usually the cast off, damaged-but-still useful sheets of iron that are used. Most copra smokehouses are located close to a road near the coast. Copra is not a major source of cash at higher elevations. Temporary shelters There are other constructions built for temporary use only, such as a large truck shelter—usually a roof on tall poles. Garden shelters are constructed in which to keep firewood, equipment, plant slips, etc. The construction usually has a sago thatch roof, since invariably the gardener will get caught in an afternoon rain. Hunting shelters may be fairly well constructed, depending upon the frequency of use and the number in the hunting party. When game is being hunted for a large feast and many people including wives and children are involved, extra effort will go into the construction of the building. Otherwise, a small lean-to of wild banana leaves laid against a pole-frame will do for the night. We have slept in several of these during rainy nights. It is not always completely dry, but with a fire in front and the reflecting leaves behind, one can keep reasonably warm and dry. Temporary shelters are also constructed to keep building materials out of the weather. Usually the shelter resembles the “garage” mentioned above. Corrugated iron intended for later use in the building is laid over pole framework. More often than not, this kind of shelter turns into a gathering place with temporary benches erected and a fire built in the middle. It’s a pleasant place to spend a rainy afternoon with neighbors.

12.3 Residential Constructions