The common courtyard binds together a cluster of seven houses into a single spatial unit. Rather than being divided by rigid walls or fences, each house opens directly into this shared ground, allowing domestic life to spill outward. Boundaries are not fixed or built; they are suggested through the careful placement of belongings at the edges of each dwelling and through the patterns of daily use that gather around them. The courtyard becomes the medium through which individual households are both connected and distinguished.

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Across the day, the courtyard shifts in character as different activities take over. In the morning, a woman occupies the space near the handpump beside her house, washing clothes and utensils. At other moments, disagreements break out among residents, briefly transforming the courtyard into a site of conflict and negotiation. By midday, men spread out and fold large fishing nets, temporarily claiming expansive portions of the ground. Children run continuously through these activities, playing without regard for the changing uses of the space. Clotheslines are strung between two palm trees, turning the open courtyard into a shared drying room.

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Inserted within this shared ground is a shed-like structure used for storing fishing nets, reinforcing the courtyard’s role as a working space. A small patch of vegetation is also cultivated here as an extension to the house next to it. The vegetation is protected by a net. This net serves multiple purposes: it marks care and ownership, and becomes an active surface where small fish are hung to dry like garlands, later picked at by crows.

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Through these layered activities and temporary occupations, the courtyard operates as more than circulation or leftover space. It does not feel fixed; rather a space left open to explore new and unexpected uses. It becomes an intersection where work, leisure, conflict, and care coexist. Privacy and ownership are not enforced through enclosure but negotiated continuously through time, familiarity, and use.