Week 10!
Hello dear followers. Update number 10.
Well we finally have our roof installed! We have announced it several times but now it is finally there. One small section is still missing but we will put it on the coming days. So we finally can shelter when rain is coming so that is a big relief. Already at this point it’s amazing how the rammed earth walls effect the indoor climate. While you hardly can stand the heat outside, the walls keep the room cool and the well placed openings bring a refreshing breeze to the inside. So you can imagine how hard it is to resist the temptation of taking a nap instead of shoveling and mixing 🙂
On the pictures you still see many black plastic sheets covering the walls but we will take them off as soon as we have finished applying the anti-rust paint on the steel trusses.
The week in general has been extremely busy and very productive. All our main wall-parts are rammed! so we only have some smaller sections left that we hope to complete this week. Carpenters from Tamale have started to work on our window and door-elements and we have begun with the foundations for the water-tank and the handwash-basin at the back of the building. We also ordered some more bricks from Tamale to construct our breastwork elements which are situated along the main facade. Part of this elements will serve as a bench, other parts will be filled with plants. So gradually things are coming together. Although there is still much to do we believe we have made a huge step this week. We are getting a better overview now of the things that still need to be done and we are more optimistic now that we are gonna finish the building in time.
Anastasia, Souzana and Clemens left us at the weekend (thank you for your help!) but during the week we luckily got many new volunteers – Lisa, Asrin, Marlene, Marius, Tobias and Rafael – to help us out. This week we therefore have still eight volunteers helping us ( the final week only two!) so we need to make the most of their presence!
Only two weeks left… We are already dreaming of doing nothing and just relax a bit and enjoy some good food but we just need to hang in there for two more weeks. But as the building is starting to unfold in its full glory! this gives us new energy for the final stretch.
Stay tuned and till next time!
The MUDcafeteria team