Amid this year’s devastating monsoon flash floods in Himachal Pradesh, a striking contrast emerged: while modern concrete homes were swept away, traditional Kathkuni houses built with layered stone and timber stood firm. These enduring structures, found across the region, embody generational wisdom that modern architecture often overlooks.

Take the story of Khub Ram, a 52-year-old apple farmer from remote Tindra village in Kullu’s Banjar tehsil. His ancestral Kathkuni home, built by his great-grandfather 150 years ago, survived the floods that submerged nearby concrete houses. Ram renovated the structure two decades back, retaining much of the original wood and stone. According to him, the home was wisely located away from the river’s direct path perhaps a key reason it escaped damage.

What makes these homes so resilient? Their sloping roofs help deflect heavy rain and debris. The porous walls, made with stone and wood in an interlocking fashion, allow water to pass through reducing the risk of collapse. Built on elevated patches and away from flood-prone zones, many of these homes have withstood nature’s fury for centuries.

This story underscores how local communities intuitively integrate geography, materials, and topology into construction. As climate-change-induced weather extremes grow more frequent, revisiting such resilient designs perhaps modernized with new engineering can help create safer homes today.

It’s a compelling reminder: traditional architecture, born from lived experience and environmental harmony, offers critical insights. In a time when floods and infrastructure failures are all too common, blending age-old wisdom with modern innovation might be our best path forward.