Sliding Mosquito Nets for Marcaim.

Mosquitoes and dust arrive from opposite sides of Marcaim. The low ground by the river and the fields below the village breed mosquitoes that are at their worst around sunset, so houses near the temple need every evening-used opening screened, ventilators included. Up by the industrial estate the nuisance is dust, which clogs any mesh and has to be brushed out. Choose sliding panels that come out of their channel, because a panel carried to the tap is cleaned properly, and mesh fixed in place never quite is. Inland, an aluminium frame holding fibreglass mesh is adequate. In the monsoon, lights draw beetles and moths, so with the front door screened the house need not be shut up at dusk.

• Village houses near the fields: nets on all bedroom windows and bathroom ventilators, plus a sliding net on the front door.
• Homes beside the estate roads: lift-out sliding frames, taken down and washed when dust greys the mesh.
• Rented rooms: a single sturdy sliding net on the one window and door, simple enough to survive a change of tenant.