Reed plaiting

This traditional barn in the country village of Gees has a thatched roof combined with reed plaiting. Though it has mainly a decorative function now, it was once done to save money; wood was very expensive and this way less wood was needed. The use of straw, plaited and put just underneath the roof where rain water didn't do much damage, seemed a good solution. And it didn't just look nice, it also ventilated the barn.
Nowadays reed is used, which is much stronger.

I'm linking to Tom's Barn Collective.