Among some West African societies including Ghana, there are traditional house builders who construct houses using a type of wood-cum-mud style of technology, known as “wattle-and-daub”. This technology is in two stages: In the first stage the builder constructs a circle or rectangle of stone or laterite blocks to serve as the foundation, then a framework of the entire building including the walls and the roof is constructed using wood. At the second stage the builder proceeds to use earthen paste (daub) made from clay and sand to plaster the outer and inner faces of the walls in such a way as to completely conceal the inner wooden core. Then the building is roofed over with thatch.

Where such houses are well-maintained and the inner wooden core is preserved from insect attack, they last much longer than houses constructed solely of mud.

Wattle-and-daub technology harks back to the time of the pioneers of farming and village life (2000-500 B.C.). In a number of “Kintampo culture” sites, such as Hani, Brong Ahafo aged around 1400 – 1600 B.C. Ntereso, Northern Ghana aged around 1300-1700 B.C. Chukoto also in Northern Ghana, and Christian’s village, near Legon University Campus, remains of daga or fossilized mud excavated by archaeologists show clear outlines of wooden poles or planks used in constructing the inner frame

It is interesting that after nearly 4000 years of use Wattle-and-daub style of building is still commonly practiced in many contemporary rural communities in Ghana.

Among several ethnic groupings in modern Ghana, such as the Akan, Ga, Dangme, Ewe, Gonja, Dagomba, Mamprusi, Wala etc, there is another tradition of building. In this mode of architecture, the principal raw material for constructing the walls is a mud paste made from clay and sand. Unlike wattle-and-daub, no inner wooden framework is provided, although wood and thatch is used for roofing. To construct the walls, the builder uses tough versatile mud or daga which has been worked for several days into a fermented state.