[Ed: battling severe weather, Arkitrekkers Tan Zhen Ron and Nick Nearchou oversee the successfull raising of the roof on Mantanani Kindergarten. This landmark stage in the project was enabled by volunteers from Chevaliar College, New South Wales and as always, the whole construction operation is propped up with lashings of wry humour and hard work from Albi, Hashim and Jai of Camp Mantanani] Raising The Roof 5th–10th December 2011. Photographs showing progression of the roof in sequence. All purlins were laid by the local...

Text and photos by Ian Hall Our Kindergarten on Mantanani Island has come on a treat these last 4 months thanks to the dedication of our Volunteer Michelle Martin and her team from Camp Borneo and the Mantanani community. We're just about to get the roof superstructure up and here is Michelle posing with a fine set of dwangs on her last day on the island. The next stage is to put the roof on and for this Michelle has risen to the challenge of communicating structural principles of a 'collar rafter' and the relative merits...

One month after my last visit, I arrived on Mantanani and was delighted to see the site strewn with impeccable driftwood logs. Albi and his team had scoured the coast and dragged their choice finds through the sea back to the camp site. Some of the logs still lay tethered at the high water line while others where being diligently planed smooth to resemble nothing like driftwood. My romantic dreams of water weathered, silvered and twisted timbers would have to be adjusted, another casualty of the cultural conditioning that...