built environment Archives - Surviving Storms

Still Standing

By Adom Philogene Heron
Photographs by Marica Honychurch

ISBN: 9781838041588
Original paperback
Price: £21.50
Publication: October 2022

This beautifully illustrated book is a celebration of the vanishing vernacular architecture of Dominica. These small wooden homes, ingeniously crafted and carefully adapted to their environment, have withstood hurricanes and earthquakes since their emergence in the post-emancipation period. While many modern, concrete homes have been destroyed, they are “still standing’. Even so, they are under threat from the forces of ‘modernity’ and ‘development’.

With an introduction by anthropologist Adom Philogene Heron that explains the historical evolution and importance of the ti kai, Still Standing takes us on a visual journey into the ti kai of today. Each home, photographed by Marica Honychurch is a tribute to traditional building skills and design; each one, described by its occupant, has an individual story of survival and well-being. Still Standing does not wish to paint the ti kai ‘as some quaint relic of an island’s past, but, as both living, ever evolving examples of creole heritage and as a model of “resilient” and sustainable dwelling.’ We believe that the stories and images in this book provide powerful evidence for vernacular conservation and thus inspire new respect for Dominica’s history and culture.

[Repost from the publisher]