Unearthing the legacy: Sri Lankan vernacular architecture's global impact on built environment and sustainability potential modern issues

This research investigates Sri Lankan vernacular architectural practices, tracing their long history, highlighting their evolution, and exploring potential lessons for sustainable community construction and governance, as well as their possible impact on global built environmental practices.

This paper considers the concept of ‘kaiya’, a practice fundamentally based on the idea of ‘sharing’ practised among rural communities for construction and agricultural work. The paper elaborates on the basic idea of ‘kaiya’ and its use in vernacular architecture. Key learnings are extracted in terms that could be effectively used in sustainable community construction management and governance. These learnings range from sociocultural, political, technological, and environmental spheres.

Local concepts such as ‘kaiya’ practiced in Sri Lanka can be instrumental in addressing pressing challenges faced by communities around the globe. The paper unearths untapped wisdom in vernacular practices, which could contribute to the global effort in the pursuit of creating sustainable communities and built environment.