TYIN Tegnestue, a humanitarian design organization from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, are the planners of Soe Ker Tie, the aptly named Butterfly Homes that sit in the village of Noh Bo, on the Thai-Burmese border. The bamboo built homes, completely assembled on site with sustainability in mind, was the brainchild of architecture students who were made aware of the lack of space for Karen refugee children living in Noh Bo.

Each home provides room for six children, and was designed with a growing child’s needs in mind. Everything from the bamboo that was woven to make the homes to the roofs of the homes themselves are efficient — the roofs collect water and there are areas around the homes to collect and keep water. The houses themselves were raised on reclaimed tire foundations to avoid flood disasters. And while the organization keeps humble on their endeavor, there is hope that more Butterfly Homes will find themselves around the world.

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