Laotians Thatch Roof to Buffer Conference Venue from Earsplitting Rain

July 25, 2005 — By Associated Press

VIENTIANE, Laos — Planners in impoverished Laos needed a fix for the cacophony of rain pelting the metal roof of their conference venue. So they thatched it with local grass.

The building in the Laotian capital looks like a converted airplane hanger with corrugated roofing panels that sizzle like Niagara Falls when the rain pours hard.

To allow VIPs at a six-day Asian security conference through Friday to hear one another, organizers at the Lao ITECC building put clumps of grass on corners of the roof that extend over key meeting rooms -- though they've left the rest unthatched.

'Even if there is a downpour now, it will not disturb the meeting because we have grass covering the roof. The rain will hit the grass, not the roof,' said Yong Chanthalangsy, the conference spokesman.

Organizers spent 60 million kip (US$6,000; euro4,941.12) on the long indigenous grass, applying an additional layer Sunday, Yong said.

The building also served -- without noise pollution -- for an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit last November. But this week's ASEAN Regional Forum comes during the rainy season, when tropical Vientiane turns from brick-red and dusty to verdant and lush.

The cavernous main hall where journalists, lower-level officials and Laotian organizers roam was as loud as ever during an afternoon deluge Sunday.

'It's very noisy,' said Kadama Katsushiro, reporter for Japanese broadcaster TBS. 'This is my first time coming to Laos, and the building is better than I expected, but the noise is terrible.'

Source: Associated Press