Text and photos by Nick Nearchou Arriving into the Arkitrek office on my first day I really had no idea of the technical challenges confronting me during my internship in Sabah. After the initial briefing I was presented with the impossible Mantanani Kindergarten construction task. “We need you to somehow lift six enormous roof rafters (large 2’’ x 8’’ timber sections and around 15’’ long) over 16ft into the air and connect them to the top of present Kindergarten structure. You will have a very limited work...

Arkitrek's Ian Hall will be talking to the Sabah Society on 4th January about 'Green Building; Mantanani Style' Synopsis Sustainability lessons with the Bajau Ubian of Pulau Mantanani. Lesson One – You can’t build that, people will laugh at you! Lesson Two – You can’t build that, the cows will laugh at it! Lesson Three – Orang Putih use a lot of water! The first two lessons relate to how the aspirations of the islanders can be at odds with the aspirations of the incomers from the tourism industry. This...

[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...

Introduction It is the biggest grass in the world, it is the food of panda, and the shoots taste really nice in stir-fry. This was really all I knew about bamboo before coming to Sabah. Well, working with Arkitrek changed that, particularly through working on the Lupa Masa project. I am fascinated by the fast growth rate, negligible embodied energy, and extensive applications. In many instances it can be a viable substitute for hardwoods. When striving to build with minimal environmental impact it is the wonder material! Genus...

Imbak Canyon, one of the last virgin lowland rainforests of Sabah, Malaysia, isn't for the faint of heart. DAY ONE 7:15 AM August 13, 2011 - Ian rolls up in with Ishmael in a beefy air-conditioned jungle truck and Daniele and I throw our backpacks in the back. For the first six hours the roads are paved and for the last two through the palm plantations, as bumpy as the surface of the moon. I am sick the entire time anyway and everyone is patient with my vicious heaves. Poor Ishmael is fasting all day long...