Accumulate and Consolidate the Traditional Vernacular Timber Preservation Technologies Through a Field Survey

There are remarks of diverse types of timber structures in the tropics. This paper examines several case histories in Sri Lanka, focusing on the culturally varied and ecologically diverse traditional buildings with wood used for constructions. These cases eliminated traditional vernacular knowledge and practices in the quest. Information was gathered by face-to-face interviews with 270 individuals in 138 cases. The demographic profile of the informants was evaluated and cross-relationships with the recorded data were analyzed by SPSS statistical software. The Snow-balling Sampling technique was used. The main objective was to gather data and document the knowledge of wood preservation. A holistic analysis of structures was performed to understand their hidden science used to overcome the degradation mechanisms and state of conservation. The results revealed the importance of social norms and cultural perceptions as a set of valuable information that was practiced with a great history in a tropical country. The wood kept under paddy field mud was the most known method of the interviewers. For generations, these peoples have maintained wood constructions through traditional and cultural practices through oral knowledge. This knowledge places a high value on protecting construction technologies while preserving biodiversity, unfortunately, by today this technology has started to extinct