HOUSES

AND THE JACKING UP

Traditionally, the houses are made of wood and attap, and are built on stilts with wooden bridging walkways connecting them. As sea level rises, the villagers jack up their houses to prevent them from being flooded. A jack is used to lift the house 2.5 inches at a time from each pile. A brick is then inserted to the gap. This process repeats for each pile of the house until all piles were elevated. This completes one round and the house is elevated 2.5 inches. If the house needs to be elevated for 2 feet, 10 rounds will be needed.

Only wooden houses can be jacked up. Modern houses that are made of bricks and mortar cannot be jacked up as the walls and floors will crack because the structure is rigid and has no flexibility