Block by block, blister by blister.

I finally made it back to aldea San Francisco to help Allan and Danny with the small church they are building. I first went there to help lay the footings Feb.1 (see my post Achin' Bacon). They have continued to build as money and time permit. Today I chopped adobe blocks in half with the all purpose tool of Latin America, the machete. The real story is that Mark Fittz, our resident architect, decided after looking at the intended span that we needed support columns at intervals as adobe does not have the stability that concrete block does. Translation: chop through two layers of adobe and dig three feet through concrete footings and hard pan. HARD WORK AND I HAVE THE BLISTERS TO PROVE IT!  However, if we ever have an earthquake we'll be glad we took the extra precaution.



Allan and Marlon discussing where the door should be.

Adobe is also very common here in Latin America. It can be made from backyard material at almost no cost other than one's time. Dirt/clay, water and pine needles are the only ingredients. Fill a form with the mix, dump it out and wait a few days for it to dry and start building. The mortar is the same thing minus the pine needles. When it drys it is actually quite hard. Sometimes a skim coat of stucco is spread over the outside walls to help protect them from the elements.

Almost everything is done by hand here. Labor is relatively inexpensive and no one seems to be in a huge hurry. A laborer makes between $7.50 and $10 USD per day. All of the men I've worked with, are thin, wiry, and very strong. They certainly put me to shame. They love to laugh and joke while they work. Their food of choice is frijoles, tortillas, sweet bread and Coca-Cola. I have had a wonderful time working alongside them.

I was also able to help a man who is in the transportation business, like myself, unload his trailer filled with adobe blocks today. By hand of course.  



Unlike me, this man doesn't seem to worry about the rising cost of fuel.

Below are a couple of pictures of a young boy herding his father's cattle up the road in front of the church. It is amazing how hard these children work, seemingly without complaining. Today I saw two little girls maybe 4 years old, each carrying a gallon of water up the hill to their house without adult supervision. The community well they draw from is at least half a mile away down the road and over hill.

A picture just for you, Cheryl Nelson



Cowboy!