Rondavel

A rondavel (from Afrikaans rondawel) is a round house with a cylindrical wall and a conical roof, a form sometimes described as "cone on cylinder". It is found across Southern Africa, including South Africa, Lesotho (where it is also called mokhoro), Eswatini and Botswana. Rondavels are used as homes, as farm outbuildings and increasingly as holiday cottages and lodge rooms.

Walls

Walls are traditionally built of stone or mud, bonded with a mortar of sand, soil or both mixed with cow dung. Floors are often finished with a dung mixture that dries to a hard, smooth surface. Modern rondavels may use concrete foundations and cement block or brick walls.

The conical roof

The roof is a self-supporting cone:

• Main members are poles cut from tree limbs.
• Principals run radially from the apex down to the top of the wall.
• Circular purlins ring the cone at intervals and support the principals and thatch.

Because a cone braces itself, large rondavels can be built without internal posts or struts, leaving the floor completely open.

The roof is thatched with grass. The thatch is sewn to the poles with grass rope, one band at a time, starting at the eaves and working up to the apex so that each course overlaps the one below. A capping at the peak closes the cone.

Climate performance

A thick thatch roof over heavy walls moderates temperature, keeping interiors cooler during hot days and retaining warmth on cold highveld or mountain nights. The steep cone sheds summer thunderstorm rain. The round form presents no flat face to the wind.

Modern versions

Many rondavels now have corrugated iron or other sheet-metal roofs in place of thatch, which are quicker to install but hotter and noisier in rain. Others keep thatch for its appearance and thermal comfort, particularly in tourism. Running water and electricity are now common.

Related forms

Round, thatched houses are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa under many local names; the rondavel is the best-known Southern African version in English.