Unique houses in the interior of Sarawak; A trip to Sarawak’s jungle Pt. IV

A village house in the interior of Sarawak

There are some really unique houses in the interior of Sarawak. The houses reflect not only practicality and simplicity but also the way of life for the folks in the area. Having spent 1 night in one of the local houses, coupled with their hospitality made me realize how over-dependant we city folks are to our ‘modern’ & materialistic world.

Our 4WD made a brief stop at a house along the road we were traveling. In front of the house lay a mat with chilies spread evenly on it. Some of us tried the chilies and they are super hot. We packed some for our trip.

These chilies are really really hot.

I did not enter the house but a small hut on tall ‘legs’ nearby really caught my attention. Having seen similar ‘huts’ in places like Bali and the Thai community in Kedah, the huts are usually built for the sole purpose of storing harvested rice supply.

This food storage hut is probably no longer in use

The huts are built with no obvious access to it for good reasons. It is built to keep its contents safe from intruders, especially from pests like rodents. The ‘legs’ of the huts are smoothened, some wrapped with zink roofing to make it almost impossible for rodents to climb up.

Underneath it however is the ladder for human access. The sort of ladder I have seen only on TV until this trip.

This ladder is probably made out of a single tree trunk lies under the hut

A woven basket hanging under the food storage hut

Wooden door handle with a modern touch of lock

The one interesting house has to be the ‘rumah tarik’ or ‘pull-house’. This is probably logger’s version of caravan. The entire wooden house is carried on a logging truck and located from place to place. Kind of a cool way to move house, especially when the entire house, with its contents inside is moved together! Not a clue how they got the house onto the truck or how they place the house down.

The entire house on a logging truck!

I wonder how they got the house on (and off) the truck without a crane

These are 2 units of ‘rumah tarik’ off their ‘transporters.

We spent the night at one of the local houses near Julan bride (our trailhead). Some parts of the house really caught my attention. The main hall (which in the night turned into our sleeping space) had a few antlers decorating its wall. These are sort of souvenirs from the local’s hunting days. They hunt the wild jungle animals mainly to feed themselves and according to the head of the house, hunting has become difficult because wild game has become scarce.

The walls of the houses are decorated with antlers from hunted animals

What thrilled me most is the kitchen area. The locals here are still using their traditional design basket with an ‘adjustable’ flap (though this one is made from wrapping straps). Besides the plastic food container, there is a parang inside the basket. Note the grooves made on the handle of the parang. I presume they were made to make handling of the parang more secure.

The locals are keeping to their traditional pack design with ‘modern’ materials

The parang securely tucked away in the basket

Grooves are carved onto the parang handle

Around the food preparation area there’s a hand-carved wooden mortar & pestle. The maker even carved the date, presumably the date it was completed.

The wooden mortar & pestle has it’s ‘manufactured’ date engraved, as compared to my lens cap.

Nearby, there is a gas tank. Similar to the ones used in any other Malaysian homes. Look closely and you will see a shotgun beside it.

Note the shotgun beside the gas tank

The house has a modern stove but they still maintain and use a traditional cooking area. The base of the ‘stove’ consists of a thick layer of sand, as insulation to the wooden (or bamboo) flooring. Above the cooking area are two shelves filled with firewood. This kitchen is quite efficient actually. The heat from the fire below helps to keep the wood stacked above dry and crisp for burning. Simply awesome!

A really cool design for a kitchen

• First time in Miri Town, Sarawak
• Wild durian & Kolok mee at Miri.
• 5 hours on a 4WD into interior off Miri.
• Unique local houses in Sarawak interior.
• Smoked wild boar…nice!
• Loooong hike to look for an elusive waterfall.
• Sarawak river boats and a raging river.
• Jungle vines and rattan used in the jungles of Sarawak.
• Umbut or heart of palm tasting, first experience.
• Harvesting of the umbut by the Penan.
• Malat & Penat; the Penan’s blades.
• Kitchen in a traditional house.
• Video on jungle kitchen & feather stick making.

Click here to read about another rainforest adventure in Semban, Sarawak.