Shell houses and memories of a difficult time for the people of the coastal village

In the coastal villages of Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, and Nghi Loc districts ( Nghe An province), moss-covered "ancient" houses built from seashells still exist, despite having endured decades of sun, rain, and storms at sea.

These houses are nestled among modern reinforced concrete structures, a testament to the resilience of the people here.

Bricks made from sea shells have been marked by time (Photo: Nguyen Phe).

During the period of scarce building materials, seashells were once considered the "white gold" of coastal villages. With their salt-resistant and weather-resistant properties, seashells have become the main material to replace bricks, stones, and cement for many decades.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Danh (61 years old), residing in An Hoa commune, Quynh Luu district, owns a 3-room shell house built nearly 40 years ago.

"Back then, the whole family contributed. When everyone came back from the sea, they would take advantage of the opportunity to carry shells back to fill the yard. When we had enough, we burned the shells in lime, mixed them with sand, and made them into shell bricks. Each brick was made of thousands of broken shell pieces, stacked on top of each other to build walls and roofs, and they still exist today," she said.

The house Mrs. Danh made from seashells has existed for more than 40 years (Photo: Phan Ngoc).

Building a complete house from shells takes 1-2 years, with available materials and the effort of the people themselves. Not only the house walls, but also the fence, chicken coop, water well... are all built from those special bricks.

However, over time, many walls have been weathered and eroded by storms, revealing white, broken shells.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Loc (66 years old), in An Hoa commune, shared: "In the past, when we were poor, seashells were the most valuable thing to build a house. Now that conditions are better, everyone has changed to new concrete houses. My house is old now, only temporarily enclosed for living and doing some work. As for the places where water seeps in, I have to buy wallpaper to waterproof it."

In the past, it took Ms. Danh's family nearly 2 years to complete this house (Photo: Nguyen Phe).

Mr. Ho Anh Dung, Chairman of the People’s Committee of An Hoa Commune, said that the shell houses were once very popular among local people during difficult times. Although most of them have now been degraded and demolished, for the people of the coastal village, they are still an unforgettable part of their memories.

"It is not only a creative act in a difficult situation, but also a testament to the hard-working spirit of many generations of our fishermen. Very few people still live in those houses today, but we still consider it a unique and unforgettable cultural feature...", Mr. Dung said.

The once-famous shell walls have gradually faded, giving way to modern, spacious high-rise buildings rising up in the midst of a coastal village that is changing every day.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/nhung-ngoi-nha-vo-so-va-ky-uc-mot-thoi-gian-kho-cua-nguoi-dan-lang-bien-20250506214529798.htm