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Vanuatu

NGOs advised to consider cultural concepts when rebuilding

The last two cyclones in the Pacific - Pam and Maysak - destroyed tens of thousands of homes as they tore through the region.

Development workers are sticking to a mantra when it comes to post-disaster reconstruction: Build Back Better.

But in the case of Vanuatu, traditional housing designs may well be better than any western concepts.

They're cheap to build and repair, and during a cyclone the materials that are used are very unlikely to cause a fatality if they were to hit a person.

Margaret Rodman is the author of Home in the Islands: Housing and Social Change in the Pacific.

Presenter: Sam Bolitho

Speaker: Margaret Rodman, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at New York University in Toronto

Audio: NGOs advised to consider cultural concepts when rebuilding (Credit: ABC)

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