Friday, June 5, 2009

Day 4: Palm Wine Blessings and Groundbreakings

Thursday May 28th 2009

A bottle of local spirits and a drink to the ancestors blesses the site of the former hall

then they made me do it too...

6 am sharp! The groundbreaking began with a bottle of sodabe and a blessing of the site. Then the construction began as the masons traced the perimiter of the building. This was all done with a tape measure, square, bricks and string. It worked well enough for me. It's funny to see how things pass here. I asked how they were going to determine the position of the building and if they were going to level the site before. Nope, you just slap it down in a position that follows the nearest building, trace out the perimiter and start digging the foundation. And so it passed...they measured 4mx 6m, placed bricks at each corner then used string to make it square and started chipping away at the earth. In time a nice 45mm deep trench was created and then they placed the line again to mark the first layer of the foundation. I was amazed at the speed and ease at which they toiled away under the African sun. In time three layers of bricks outlined the base of the building.



Normally, when a project like this one enters a community, sometimes there are minor flaws thay can escalate into great problems. I feel that I am lucky to have such a wonderful team of community members here to assist in the realization of this project. So "petite a petite" the artisans and trades people of Adeta will "build their nest."



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