Construction -bush sticks

Most of Belize isn't about sophistication or the newest and best. It's about making the most of and using what's at hand. A friend of ours had a pallopa (?) with a thatched roof that had a corner that was starting to rot. Rene took his machete and headed into the bush, returning later in the day with a large bundle of cohune fronds, tied with tye tye. (I've probably misspelled most of these terms). We were fascinated by how resourceful he was. The tye tye is a flexible vine that can be used like rope. The use it for all sorts of things, including tying large posts together for building.

A startling sight can be a concrete house under construction, being held up by bush sticks. I suspect that in the States you would use steel posts and jacks, but here they use what's at hand. At some sites they use hundreds of sticks at a time. We see signs up to buy or sell these hardwood sticks. It may not look fancy, but appears to work just fine.