Plants as Building Materials

Wood is indispensable for building. Although stone is extensively used in construction (as well as the versatile date palm in areas where this valuable food source can be persuaded to grow), building wood is nevertheless in high demand for both temporary and permanent dwellings, for livestock pens, cattle byres, handling yards, huts, enclosures and fencing for agricultural plots. Some species are considered to be especially desirable for building, such as the (living) wood of the tree Ziziphus spina-christi, which is termite resistant. However, this tree is also an important food source and provides browse for camels and goats, and thus its cutting is a decision which must involve all those living in the area: permission must be obtained, the need for cutting down the tree explained and the lack of suitable alternatives demonstrated.

Other hardwood trees, such as Acridocarpus, Maerua, Grewia, Cordia , the larger Croton species, and the dead wood of the tamarind are also in demand : the trunks and larger boughs are used as king posts, roof trees and cross beams, and the smaller branches as infill. For the final interweaving, the stems of Croton socotranus are extensively used. Soqotra is blessed with this - what might almost be called "weed" - tree, which is very common (growing freely in most low-lying and coastal areas of the island), produces a single, straight stem and is unpalatable to livestock. It provides the chief roofing material of the island, especially in places where there are few or no date palms. Travelling around the island, stacks of it can be seen everywhere, waiting to be transported to the settlements where the bark is stripped from the trunk (to deter termites) before it is used or sold.