House No. 13: Communal Home

House No. 13: Communal Home
super delicious Ethiopian food on injera bread
approx. 12 in. x 12 in.
013/365; 01/13/11

Tonight's tasty house was made with help from my sister and the fantastic people at The Nile Ethiopian Restaurant of Richmond. The Nile is one of my favorite restaurants, so much so that it was the destination location for both my friend Angie and me for our birthdays this past year. Tonight's platter included Yemisir Wat, Shiro Wat, Ater Kik Alicha, Gomen, Atkilt, Fasolia, Dinich Wat, Bedelgan, Inguday, and Timatim Selata. The roof is a piece of injera bread.

Ethiopian food is eaten communally from a platter lined with injera bread, which sops up all the deliciousness if you can make it that far. (This food is super filling.) One eats by tearing pieces of injera and scooping from the platter. It makes for a lovely connection with your food and your dining companions. Here is a photo of dinner before we dug in.

Beautiful, isn't it? I didn't take an "after" photo, but I assure you, there was not much left. * urp *

House No. 8: Dorze Home

House No. 8: Dorze Home
pencil & ink on repurposed 100% cotton rag cover stock

5.25 in. x 3.75 in.

008/365; 01/08/11

My house today is a drawing of a traditional house of the Dorze of the southern region of Ethiopia. Dorze houses are constructed with vertical bamboo poles and woven bamboo. The thatch is made of ensete plant, grass, and bamboo stem covering. 

The houses are very tall, some are up to forty feet high, and re-locatable. When chewed at the bottom by termites, the house is trimmed from the bottom and moved. The older the house, therefore, the shorter it is, and they can last from sixty to eighty years. 

The house is subdivided and contains a hearth, sleeping quarters and a place for livestock. I think that these houses are ingenious and fascinating. They are the original green, sustainable houses.