After the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004, Roger Miall and Turnstone Communications set up the Turnstone Tsunami Fund, raising US$45,000. The timber trade, and particularly Howarth Timber and the Carpenters’ Company, donated generously and we pledged to use the money to make a real difference in Sumatra.

We chose to support traditional carpentry training and forest replanting on the island of Nias, west of Sumatra, which was also struck by a subsequent earthquake. Traditional timber houses there survived and can be repaired, whereas concrete buildings were mainly destroyed.

Mindful of reports of people still unhoused and millions of dollars unspent in Sumatra, we want to report our progress and results after a recent visit.

I visited the “great house” of Omo Sebua in Hitinawalo Mazingo village to assess its condition for its restoration and conservation, and inspected the results of our two carpentry courses and tree seedling project. Its remoteness and the extreme practical difficulty of transporting anything weighing more than a sack of rice, on low-powered motorcycles over treacherous terrain for the final 8km from the road, cannot be over-emphasised.

Listed building

The listing by World Monument Fund of Omo Sebua as one of the world’s most important 100 buildings for restoration and conservation is absolutely justified – I suggest it is one of Indonesia’s great treasures.

The structure is now secure and not in immediate danger of collapse, which was the position after the 2005 earthquake. Some repairs have at least secured the main structure, but further work is needed. In 2002 the attap (palm leaf) thatched roof had been replaced with government aid, but there are already some leaks. Some of the structure is damaged and needs replacing or repairing, for which a wood specialist structural engineer’s assessment is still needed. And some very complex, though superficial, joinery work, is equally important.

Due to earlier long-term water ingress much of the internal panelling, for example, has been seriously damaged, although in many cases extending to no more than 2-5% of the surface area and thus repairable. The width and type of these panels are probably not available for replacement with similar wood and so must be conserved. The floor of Omo Sebua, made of short, unusually wide, boards is generally in excellent condition and is one its glories.

Turnstone had organised two carpentry courses and I met nine of those who participated. Some were already active carpenters and others had learned from scratch but all were enthusiastic about the course.

I was impressed by a small scale “replica” of Omo Sebua which the trainees had built in the traditional way with techniques that preclude the use of nails – a typical wooden house of the kind that is well proven to withstand earthquakes and also perpetuate the traditional style of living by the villagers.

Building repairs

It was very noticeable that almost all the earthquake damage to the traditional wooden houses had been repaired, whereas many crude concrete buildings were extensively damaged and are still mainly uninhabitable.

Unfortunately, the lack of suitable wood for building caused by the depletion of local trees and the lack of outside income, mean some of the carpenters don’t have enough work and are now farming.

The lack of timber is being addressed by replanting trees: 1,200 afoa seedlings were grown in poly bags and subsequently transplanted into seven sites for timber production. Local school children were involved in the planting project for the purpose of educating them in the importance of looking after this vital resource.

I inspected one site where the retention and survival rate was excellent and then walked for an hour or so, making several river crossings, and up some very steep terrain to another site of shifting cultivation, including bananas and coffee, where the afoa retention was again encouragingly high. In both sites competing vegetation had been kept clear and I impressed on the chief the importance of site maintenance in the next 5-10 years.

We now plan to assist the village to pump water and to continue helping the Nias carpenters to build and repair traditional wooden houses, a programme in which local NGOs are now taking much interest.

To make a donation or support the work of the Turnstone Tsunami Fund contact Roger Miall on tel: 01483 894640.