[click to enlarge]This question got me thinking about what ‘ideal’ really is. Is it something that society drives us to achieve or is it just searching for natural commodities like shelter, warmth and food?
If you ask someone in the west what their ‘ideal home’ is they may tell you “A villa in the south of France with a place to moor the yacht and a private pool” whereas if you ask Johnston Chirwa (picture of home above) as I did in central Malawi, he believes he has the ideal home and more.
The entire home is roughly 4m x2m and is situated about 20m off a dirt road. It was originally constructed as a store to house building materials and tools, he sees himself as fortunate because his home is constructed with clay bricks instead of hand packed mud, and he has a corrugated aluminium roof rather than the usual grass. There is not much internal space for accommodation just a bed and a place on the ground to sit and eat, and all storage is on the walls. Most of his household activities occur outside the four walls. Cooking happens just outside his front door over an open fire, he is in close proximity to a water source and has his own lot to grow vegetables. Most importantly, he is happy.
We strive to achieve what we see in the glossy magazines, clinical rooms with the token book on the coffee table, is this because society has said this is how we should live? Is it really what we need?
Peter McNie - 6th year MArch student
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