Sami Bealljegoahti

The frame is made from birch roundwood pegged together with wood; no nails are used. Poles of roundwood are laid against the frame, pegged and covered with overlapping sheets of birch bark which are kept in place by layers of turf stacked against the sloping walls.

The arch-beamed goahti is called a bealljegoahti in Sami. It consists of an inner framework of two sets of curved wooden beams, called bealljek. To get the curved trees you have to look for birch growing on hillsides. The trees there bend near the root to be able to grow straight up.

naturalhomes.org...





At 5:37 in this video we see the frame from the inside.

More images here. www.google.co.uk...


Thousands of years of trial and error leads to the most suitable design. It's probably not possible to improve the design of the framework. Some people think it may have evolved from structures made using mammoth tusks or whale jawbones.

I like the way the structure blends into the background and eventually rots back in with almost no trace of its existence. Sustainable housing that is suitable for seriously cold weather.

Insulation plays a major role in reducing heat loss between indoor and outdoor conditions. The Sámi wisely employ the earth around them in their structures as a sort of mortar between structural pieces as well as an overall wall system. The insulative value of a material depends on the amount of air contained within that material. Unlike denser building materials such as heavy timber and animal skins, earth, being a particular substance, includes an optimal amount of air space, even when packed very tightly. In this way, the heat transfer is much slower and allows for a maximum amount of heat control within the interior. The use of earth also is an environmentally sustainable approach to building in the sense that one uses a reusable material that requires little or no processing for use or reuse in the environment.

www.laits.utexas.edu...


I'm tempted to build a miniature bealljegoahti next time I'm out in the forest.

a reply to: Kester

Pretty cool.

a reply to: Kester

I wouldn't mind attempting one of those also, may even build one at my bug out spot.

a reply to: Kester

Thanks Kester, I always enjoy watching and learning about these types of housing. The ingenuity, and the simple but effective construction of them always impresses me.