Kerala's traditional courtyard house, its name literally meaning 'four blocks' — four wings enclosing a central open courtyard (nadumuttam) at the home's heart.
केरल · Kerala
A nalukettu's four wings traditionally housed different household functions and family members around the central nadumuttam courtyard, built using laterite stone, wood, and sloped tiled or thatched roofing suited to Kerala's monsoon climate, with the courtyard itself often used for daily rituals and family gatherings.
Larger versions with additional courtyards, ettukettu (eight blocks) or pathinarukettu (sixteen blocks), were built by wealthier landholding families, and while few new nalukettu homes are built today, many surviving examples have been restored as heritage homestays across Kerala.