Pharaa’s traders are from multiple tribes in addition to Indigenous Papuans. This market is intended as a safe haven and meeting place between these diverse communities, especially the mama-mama - Indigenous mothers who bear financial responsibility for their parents- and unmarried siblings-in-law as well as their husbands and children. The architects conceived a modular design that can be easily repeated. Each steel-and-concrete building has a staircase and ramp and can be connected to other buildings by a bridge. Inspired by the Sentani tribe’s rumah kaki seribu (thousand-legged stage house), their multiple column supports create a sense of familiarity, and their two layers of roof overhangs offer shading and aid climate-responsiveness. Here, five buildings can accommodate 2000 traders. The ground floor is like an open street-vendors’ market, for fresh produce. Upstairs is the dry market for souvenirs and local food, along with education, healthcare, and religious facilities, and proper sanitation.
Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture
