SHIRAKAWA, Gifu Prefecture--Villagers in this renowned UNESCO World Heritage site came together to re-thatch the roof of a multitiered house here for the first time in five years on May 13. The ...

Lawn care is important for any homeowner. And most people don’t realize that it’s beneficial to thatch their lawn to keep their grass fresh. However, a thatching rake is different from other types of ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Kazumi Numaguchi takes a handful of grass and draws the bright steel of his sickle through the stems. Holding ...

In England and Denmark, there are still entire villages of thatched houses. While it is expensive to thatch a roof in those countries, it is not prohibitively so, and the tradition of thatching is ...

Dartington, Devon: It’s been 13 years since I was last on the roof of this 14th-century longhouse, and neither of us are as we were An easterly breeze is knocking the heat out of the April sun as I ...

There has been a call for more thatching courses around Ireland in order to save the "uniquely Irish craft". Fine Gael Senator Manus Boyle said that thatching is at risk of dying unless investment ...

Two poor weather years and a move away from traditional long-stemmed winter wheat have been blamed for a shortage of thatching straw. The National Thatching Straw Growers Association (NTSGA) says ...