Traditional Building Techniques

Building your own home is a magical and enticing call.

But is it really possible? Until very recently, the homes we all lived in were built with our own hands and through communal village effort, whether in the desert, at the poles, on mountaintops, by riverbanks, or on distant islands. Special designs and traditions passed down through generations existed across all human geographies. From the selection of stones to the season for felling trees, even discussions about the moon phase—a technique and design that now astonishes scientists. In general, these structures stand for thousands of blocks. The sixty-year lifespan of concrete merely makes them laugh.

Whether you decided to build your home with your own hands and within a determined network of solidarity, or you hired a master craftsman and got to work. Don't let your eyes be blind, your ears deaf, and your hands tied. A perspective is now prevailing that refuses to leave one's own home, democratic support, and even internal divisions to the mercy of professionals. The number of such examples in Turkey has increased considerably. And the resulting structures are astonishingly good. The balance between material and climate, the placement on the land, the value used later, and most critically, homes that make people feel good inside—all are possible.

Melih Aşanlı, building upon his knowledge of traditional arts and adding many years of dedicated restoration and sculpting techniques, has prepared an excellent guide book for volunteers like himself, who have settled or wish to settle on their journeys. The book sparks curiosity by starting from how to place your house on the land, soil, and the boundary of the plot, classifying materials, and guiding you through building your home from foundation to roof, or directing master craftsmen. Melih Aşanlı perhaps summarizes the essence of what he describes as follows:

“To comprehend, perceive the nature of water, marriage, stone, wood, and the necessary principles. Without trying to dominate materials, you are free to do whatever you want with an actually old but current proposal that we can meet our needs just by adapting.”

After all, isn't the whole point about being free?