Monday, November 21, 2005
CONSTRUCTION: DAY 1
We begin early, and work late. A long, and physically demanding first day on the construction site.
Making workflow plans at 5:30 am.
The first shovels of dirt are excavated from the septic pit location. The soil is fairly workable after the tough grass layer is removed.
Back to The Ranch for breakfast and some real-time engineering.
Back at the site, the team is split into an excavation crew for the septic tank pit and for the septic drain field. Here Laura, Beth, and Ken work on the first of three drain trenches.
Dave, Ryu, and Brandon are assisted by Pedro and supervised by Chicho, barrio president. The pit is getting deeper, but still far from the required 1.5 meters.
The big guns are brought in to finish off the pit.
The hot weather (mid-90s) and hard work required occasional water and muscle breaks.
The pit for the septic tank is fully excavated by mid-afternoon on Day 1. On to other digging projects!
Our construction crew (Bolivianos and Gringos) enjoying their shovel work, the increased cloud cover, and the power of effective teamwork.
At least one local is not sure what to make of all the action. How exactly do you get a cow out of a 1.5 meter deep pit?
Fortunately, dogs are easier to get out. Walter to the rescue!
A little realtime engineering suggests the budget and workforce can accommodate one more project -- a three toilet, one urinal toilet house. We plan to build this concurrently with the septic tank and drain field attending to proper grading to ensure gravity flow throughout. Here, Beth and Sergio chat after clearing much of the building site of its vegetation.
Critical building materials (sand, gravel, rock, brick) arrive in late afternoon -- exactly as planned! We might just pull this project off if things continue in this fashion.
The foundation of the toilet house is excavated. The sun is close to setting, so as dark falls we make this our last construction step for the day.
