A brand new house . . .

Traditional PNG houses are built with wood and bamboo straight from the forest, and thatched with dried palm leaves for the roof. When someone needs a new house, his relatives and close friends get together and help him out until it's done . . . and later on he'll do the same for them.

Particularly in the lowlands, where it's very hot and wet, houses are usually built a couple of metres off the ground, to keep them dry and let lots of air flow under the house.