"Jing Kieng Jri - A Bridge That Breathes" by Arnav Bhatnagar, ,

Faced with regular flash floods and storm surges, the Khasi tribe from Meghalaya, India, devised an ingenious way to connect remote mountain villages over turbulent waterways called the Living Root Bridges or ‘Jing Kieng Jri'. Tree trunks are planted on either side of the bank to create a sturdy foundation, and then slowly over the next 15-30 years, the tribe threads Ficus elastica roots across a temporary bamboo scaffolding to connect the gap. With time, humidity and foot traffic compacts the soil and the tangle of the roots grows strong and thick. Some of the largest bridges even stretch up to 250 ft and bear impressive loads of 35 people at a time. These structures grow in resilience over time and last even up to and more than a century. Compared to modern structures, the Khasis had derived a low cost and sustainable way to connect their people.