IBOV 185,629.04 ▼ 0.93% IPSA 11,370.36 ▼ 0.39% IPC MEX 65,025.71 ▼ 0.06% MERVAL 3,110,163 ▲ 1.11% COLCAP 2,584.02 ▲ 0.57% BVL PERÚ 60,246.14 ▲ 0.76% USD/BRL5.10▼ 0.11% USD/MXN16.89▼ 0.07% USD/CLP927.21▲ 0.21% USD/COP3,105▼ 0.68% USD/PEN3.35▼ 0.20% USD/ARS1,514▼ 0.02% USD/UYU40.22▲ 2.98% USD/PYG5,869▲ 2.29% USD/BOB12.58▲ 3.72% USD/DOP58.63▲ 0.22% USD/CRC448.95▲ 2.03% USD/GTQ7.63▲ 3.01% USD/HNL26.84▲ 0.52% USD/NIO36.62▲ 0.34% USD/VES825.67▲ 0.80% USD/PAB1.00— 0.00% USD/BZD2.00— 0.00% USD/JMD 157.28 — 0.00% USD/TTD6.70▲ 2.04% EUR/BRL5.94▲ 0.52% BRENT 88.88 ▼ 0.03% WTI 83.11 ▼ 0.11% IRON ORE 161.91 — — COPPER 6.61 ▲ 0.03% GOLD 4,461 ▲ 1.78% SILVER 65.59 ▲ 1.26% SOY 1,184 ▲ 3.20% CORN 480.50 ▲ 10.02% WHEAT 655.00 ▲ 3.93% COFFEE 317.25 ▼ 5.51% SUGAR 16.43 ▼ 1.79% ORANGE JUICE 138.55 ▼ 0.47% COTTON 85.03 ▲ 2.33% COCOA 5,719 ▲ 3.18% BEEF 223.60 ▼ 3.93% CATTLE 339.10 ▼ 3.16% LITHIUM 75.20 ▲ 1.47% PETR4 41.64 ▼ 0.05% VALE3 72.97 ▲ 0.83% ITUB4 38.60 ▼ 1.03% BBDC4 16.85 ▲ 0.36% ABEV3 14.89 ▼ 0.80% BBAS3 19.37 ▲ 0.47% B3SA3 14.26 ▼ 0.21% WEGE3 47.59 ▲ 0.49% PRIO3 59.14 ▼ 0.19% SUZB3 41.33 ▲ 2.35% RENT3 34.68 ▼ 0.09% AZZA3 15.89 ▼ 2.63% CSAN3 3.22 ▼ 1.83% RAIZ4 0.25 — 0.00% PCAR3 2.75 ▼ 0.36% GMAT3 3.65 ▼ 1.08% PSSA3 48.13 ▼ 0.54% CVCB3 1.33 ▼ 2.92% POSI3 3.36 ▲ 2.44% SLCE3 13.34 ▲ 0.30% NATU3 8.14 ▼ 0.73% IBOV 185,629.04 ▼ 0.93% IPSA 11,370.36 ▼ 0.39% IPC MEX 65,025.71 ▼ 0.06% MERVAL 3,110,163 ▲ 1.11% COLCAP 2,584.02 ▲ 0.57% BVL PERÚ 60,246.14 ▲ 0.76% USD/BRL 5.16 ▲ 0.01% USD/MXN 17.06 ▼ 0.24% USD/CLP 913.98 ▲ 0.04% USD/COP 3,140 ▲ 0.03% USD/PEN 3.36 ▼ 0.66% USD/ARS 1,493 ▲ 0.10% USD/UYU 40.27 ▲ 1.24% USD/PYG 5,939 ▲ 1.68% USD/BOB 11.64 ▼ 0.76% USD/DOP 58.34 ▲ 1.25% USD/CRC 445.92 ▲ 0.89% USD/GTQ 7.62 ▲ 2.21% USD/HNL 26.79 ▲ 1.57% USD/NIO 36.62 ▲ 0.69% USD/VES 762.44 ▼ 0.13% USD/PAB 1.00 — 0.00% USD/BZD 2.00 — 0.00% USD/JMD 157.28 — 0.00% USD/TTD 6.70 ▲ 0.61% EUR/BRL 5.95 ▲ 1.01% BRENT 88.88 ▼ 0.03% WTI 83.11 ▼ 0.11% IRON ORE 161.91 — — COPPER 6.61 ▲ 0.03% GOLD 4,461 ▲ 1.78% SILVER 65.59 ▲ 1.26% SOY 1,184 ▲ 3.20% CORN 480.50 ▲ 10.02% WHEAT 655.00 ▲ 3.93% COFFEE 317.25 ▼ 5.51% SUGAR 16.43 ▼ 1.79% ORANGE JUICE 138.55 ▼ 0.47% COTTON 85.03 ▲ 2.33% COCOA 5,719 ▲ 3.18% BEEF 223.60 ▼ 3.93% CATTLE 339.10 ▼ 3.16% LITHIUM 75.20 ▲ 1.47% PETR4 41.64 ▼ 0.05% VALE3 72.97 ▲ 0.83% ITUB4 38.60 ▼ 1.03% BBDC4 16.85 ▲ 0.36% ABEV3 14.89 ▼ 0.80% BBAS3 19.37 ▲ 0.47% B3SA3 14.26 ▼ 0.21% WEGE3 47.59 ▲ 0.49% PRIO3 59.14 ▼ 0.19% SUZB3 41.33 ▲ 2.35% RENT3 34.68 ▼ 0.09% AZZA3 15.89 ▼ 2.63% CSAN3 3.22 ▼ 1.83% RAIZ4 0.25 — 0.00% PCAR3 2.75 ▼ 0.36% GMAT3 3.65 ▼ 1.08% PSSA3 48.13 ▼ 0.54% CVCB3 1.33 ▼ 2.92% POSI3 3.36 ▲ 2.44% SLCE3 13.34 ▲ 0.30% NATU3 8.14 ▼ 0.73%
since 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2026

The secret behind this house built by two friends in just 15 days

By · April 25, 2022 · 3 min read

The LatAm Brief

One email, every weekday morning. What moved in Latin American markets, politics and expat life.

Yesterday’s subject line: “Eleven of fifteen Brazilian police directors offered to quit”

Free. We send a confirmation link first — nothing arrives until you click it. Unsubscribe with one click in any edition. If you stop opening us for 30 days we stop sending by ourselves, as we assume the interest is no longer there. See our privacy policy. We never share your email.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Bamboo is an element frequently used in architecture. For example, it is used to build parquet floors, beams, ceilings, and fences. However, very few construction sites are encouraged to use it for the entirety of their construction. This fact did not prevent two friends from building a house entirely made of this material in the middle of the jungle.

The Youtube channel Primitive Survival Tool protagonists spend their videos building houses outdoors with natural elements. With the help of almost exclusively their hands, the whole process took them only fifteen days. The property is five meters wide and seven meters long and has 12 square meters.

Two friends built a house entirely made of bamboo in the middle of the jungle.
Two friends built a house entirely made of bamboo in the middle of the jungle.
One-stop reference
Company Intelligence
Every listed company in Latin America — financials, ownership and structure for 1,450+ companies across 26 exchanges, in one place.
Browse the directory →
RT
Ask Rio Times
17 years of Latin America reporting, on demand.
Open the full Ask Rio Times →

To join the trunks together, they used thin plant stems as thread. The only tools they used were a chisel and tweezers to make the holes where the small, firm branches would go as nails to join the trunks with them.

These were embedded with other short logs they chose to implement as hammers. For the curved canes that make up the structure, they previously passed them through fire to soften them and to be able to bend them at their convenience. Then, they stacked most of them on top of each other to form the wall and reinforced it with a second external layer.

From the outside, the house’s front facade consists of a diamond-shaped bamboo lattice with two adjoining entrance doors and a window to let in light. All around, they used very thick logs to outline the edges of the house and hide the stack of stacked logs.

The only tools they used were a chisel and tweezers to make the holes where the small, firm branches would go as nails to join the trunks with them.
The only tools they used were a chisel and tweezers to make the holes where the small, firm branches would go as nails to join the trunks with them.

The house has two rooms and is furnished with a 1 x 1.20 m bed, a 1 x 0.50 m dining table, four chairs, and an armchair. The furniture was not bought later but was also made by their own hands. For the pool, they dug the hole with chisels, put in sturdy logs as beams, and with small reeds, they built the edge as a deck that surrounds it.

THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE

So far, you can see how they built an entire bamboo house in two weeks, including a swimming pool, an achievement that already has a lot of merit in itself. However, the duo doubled the bet and previously built a second underground floor underneath the reed house.

The furniture was not bought later but was also made by their own hands.
The furniture was not bought later but was also made by their own hands.

Chisel in hand, the friends dug and built a cave of clay-textured earth. In this space, they carved out a room that includes a bed with shelves sunk into its sidewalls and another room with an armchair and a table. Since it is underground, the light that enters through the stairs that they also carved or the spaces they left open to the sky does not reach the entire surface, so they decided to illuminate the room with candles.

The video has accumulated more than 75 million views, and the channel has 6.25 million subscribers from all over the world. These followers watch the architectural adventures of these friends who build houses in the middle of the jungle using natural elements.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error

Read More from The Rio Times

The Rio Times · Power Map
See who really holds power in Latin America
Click to open the Power Map

Rotate for Best Experience

This report is optimized for landscape viewing. Rotate your phone for the full experience.