Tuesday April 20, 2010: Day 10

Day 10 was finishing off the last bit of the trench, laying more brick, and starting to pour the concrete columns. Bricklaying involved scaffolding today as we finally reached the height where it is required! Scaffolding also meant handing everything up a level so the passing began - bricks, cement mix, water, shovels, trowels, etc.

We all continue to be amazed and intrigued at how we are using no power tools in construction, but every job is accomplished with simple efficiency. Alejandro and Abel are masters of making walls straight using only string and a weight. We mix concrete using a volcano formation to pour in the water. Making sure walls are level means using a tube filled with water. It is truly remarkable and we all feel privileged to witness our Peruvian teachers in action!

As for the concrete columns, we first built wooden frames and filled in the cracks as best we could using the empty cement bags. The columns are the structural support and the result of all of our rebar tying and prep. Alejandro and Abel led us through making sure the frames were straight and once they were level we formed a chain gang to get the concrete up into the columns. We all wore a little concrete by the end of the day, but three columns are poured!

Hamblamos luego…

Pam
Developing World Connections Participant