Made of strong durable wood (such as « iron wood » called Lime), these houses are built on stilts, with the traditional palm roof to keep the summer heat away.
They are often surrounded with balconies and open on all four sides to
let the breeze in. Three thousand palms are necessary to cover an
average-size house (8m x 12m). One single family does not own enough
palm-trees to make a roof, so the whole village helps: relatives and
neighbours bring their palms and their know-how, in return for which
the family will provide food and alcohol for everyone until the roof is
completed.
The most beautiful stilt houses are found in the districts of Bảo Yên, Bảo Thắng and Văn Bà n.
