Roofing in Vanuatu

Vanuatu's roofs are split between imported corrugated iron and natangura, thatch made from the leaves of the sago palm. The nakamal, the meeting place of chiefs, is the country's key traditional building and is often described locally as a hurricane shelter. Tropical Cyclone Pam in March 2015 destroyed roofs across much of the country and prompted efforts to record and revive traditional building knowledge.

Climate and hazards

Vanuatu has a humid tropical climate and lies squarely in the South Pacific cyclone belt; it is also volcanically and seismically active. Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Pam struck on 13 March 2015 with sustained winds of up to 240 km/h (150 mph). In a REACH shelter assessment carried out in April and May 2015, the share of households reporting their roof completely destroyed ranged from 33% (Nguna/Pele) to 79% (Paama), and the share reporting any shelter damage ranged from 59% to 95%. Pam and a following El Niño drought also destroyed thatching materials and new plantings, causing shortages of local materials for rebuilding.

Roofing history

The sago palms of the genus Metroxylon, including Metroxylon warburgii and M. salomonense, have long been used throughout Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands for building: their leaves make a durable thatch and their leaf stalks serve as supports and beams. Corrugated iron spread later, and by 2010 iron and natangura roofs were roughly equal in number.

Traditional and vernacular roofs

• Nakamal: traditional meeting house used by chiefs for governance, decision-making and teaching, and anecdotally designed to withstand cyclones.
• Natangura roofs: sago-palm leaf thatch, the most common traditional covering (see sago palm thatch).
• Coconut-leaf and wild-cane roofs are also used.

After Pam, UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Fund financed a 2015 project (US$23,908) to document six damaged nakamals before and after the cyclone, assess their structural condition, and assess the risk of losing the building skills held in each community.

Roofing today

In the 2010 Household Income and Expenditure Survey, 49.2% of household records listed an iron roof on the main house, 41.7% natangura, 4.5% coconut leaf, 3.4% wild cane and the rest other materials. These are unweighted case counts from the survey sample. Before Pam, the REACH assessment likewise found corrugated iron and natangura to be the most common roofs.

Codes, standards and regulation

A national building code was first published in 1990; the Public Works Department issues the Vanuatu Building Code (2000 edition), and the National Building Code Act No. 36 of 2013 gives it legal force. A review of Pacific codes lists the latest update as 2025.

Notable roofs

The nakamals documented in the 2015 UNESCO project are notable recorded examples of traditional roofs.

Local roofing terms

• Natangura (Bislama, also spelled natangora): sago-palm leaf thatch.
• Nakamal: chiefs' meeting house; kastom, customary practice the nakamal houses.

Sources and gaps

No information on domestic roofing manufacturers was found in published sources.

Roof-material results from the 2020 census: published information is limited.