House
One way to make a house of clay is simply to pile up the mud or wet clay with the hands, and flatten it into a wall shape. Often animal hair, straw and dung is mixed with the mud so that the fibres (stringy bits) help hold it together. Some wooden beams and thin wooden slats are used to hold the roof, which is also made of mud or clay. The roof is flat and strong enough to walk on, but must slope a bit, in case of rain. The walls are often protected from rain with plaster and paint. In many countries the walls are usuallly white, but in other places all the houses are painted different bright clolours. These types of houses are only found in very dry countries. Houses built in this way give good protection against the very hot sun and hot dry winds of the dessert. In the cold nights they stay quite warm.