Volunteers
We wouldn't be where we are at without
the guys that have volunteered. I can't afford to pay them a real
wage, I can only give them about enough to cover their lunch, so it's
not like they are employees that I can make demands of. In the
morning when I pick them up, sometimes they are 10 minutes late.
Back when we lived at Mosamane, they would sometimes miss the ride
that I arranged for them (to save me both time and diesel). Then I
would have to drive in to get them. That was frustrating.
I bring hot water and have coffee in
the little storeroom, so after we get to the house site, there is a
before work coffee break. I can usually water the garden during that
time! I have to remind myself, that without them, I'd be working at
a snail's pace. Something else I'm learning is that relationships
are the most important thing. Yelling at them to get started would
only bring an oppressive atmosphere. I know a good bit of it is
cultural. Work expectations here are different from the US. When
summer comes, I'd like to start around 7:30. Going to propose to the
guys if we do, we'll stop earlier. I just don't know what time I'd
actually pick them up.
The Mine
Since we are basically out of crusher
dust, most of our work this week has been in the mine digging out
soil and clay. It's not fun work, but it has to be done. Friday a
cold front arrived, it was windy and cold, so we only worked till
lunch. We do have lots of supplies set up, both soil and clay, so
once we get crusher dust, we'll be able to mix cob for 10 days at
least, maybe more.
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| Two dirt piles to the left, and clay pit and clay pile to the right. |
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| Nice dirt pile on left, clay on the right. |
Lumber
We are also at the point of the windows
on many walls, so been waiting to get lumber. I found a mill on top
of the mountain at Ficksburg a while ago, and the guy was suppose to
call me, but never did. I called him again this week, and asked
about his reject pieces (with bark on one side, or knots, whatever).
This is fine for us because the wood is going to be covered by cob,
it just needs to be solid to attach the windows when we are near
finished. The good news is that for one ton of rejects, it only cost
R100/$10. I'd love to get several tons, it's transporting them to de
la Harpe that is a little challenging.
Other work
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| Plugged drain, with peep-hole. You can see the outer ring that broke off to the left. |
We lived in 3 places here so far, and
had toilet issues in 2 of them. One of the toilets in our current
place backed up, so on my Friday afternoon off, I was on toilet duty.
Toilets here, most of the time, are placed against an outside wall
and the pipe comes straight out, and where it turns downward, there
is a peep-hole you can open. However, the pipes had been painted
over when the house was painted, so it was a struggle getting them
open. Actually broke one of them getting it off. The one was clear,
the other was blocked up to the point of the opening. I wasn't able
to buy a plunger, but was able to get a bottle of “Free-Flow.” I
was going to pour this straight into the pipe where I could see the
blockage. I looked at the bottle again, 98% sulphuric acid!
Fortunately I had some thick rubber gloves. Put them on, and poured
just a little bit. Combining sulphuric acid and sewage results in a
bubbling, steaming, brown volcano!! Unfortunately, it didn't loosen
things up completely. This morning (the next day), the level has
dropped another 8 inches or so, but still there. Going to check at
the co-op if they have another bottle in the back, as the one I got
was the last one the shelf. Corné and I both said that once in our
house, we won't have any toilet leaking/blocking up issues. Another
advantage of compost toilets-simple and effective!
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