In the bush of
Kenya, certain tools and materials can be in short supply. Whether it's out of
the budget or simply doesn't exist in the local shops, many construction
workers, farmers, landscapers, and families have to make do with what they
have. This is certainly the case in Mwakoma, and the innovation I have witnessed
from our work crew has been incredible.
Our main building, which will serve as an office, honey processing room, dorm, community center,
library, meeting hall, and educational facility, was set into place thanks to
string, sticks, and a right angle tool.
Our campsites are
level and flat and beautiful thanks to, again, sticks, string, and a leveler.
Our perfect,
cylindrical, cement toilets with proper seats were framed onto some plywood tied
together with wire and sticks in a circle. These guys had never made a toilet
like that before. Mostly, their long drop lous are topped with [scary] holes in
the floor, but when we showed them a drawing of what we wanted they figured out
a way!
Again and again I
come to them with a problem and they come up with the most unusual solutions.
Need a high tech metal saw to cut some mabati? No problem, just hammer a panga
across it in a line. Wire cutters gone missing? Just smash it with a mallet!
I like to think
that I've learned a little from them as well. The shower has been the bane of
my existence the past week. Convinced that it was a small enough job that we
didn't need to pay men to do, Carley and I were determined to finish it on our
own. First, we had no idea how to attach the gutters without the usual attachments and
roof to nail it to. Instead, we hammered nails in to make a hole and tied them
together with fence wire. Then, to protect our tarp from mold and dirt, we
needed to roll it up a bit. I needed a clamp, but I knew I wouldn't find any in
Voi. Solution? Repurposing plastic! We took the heads from water jugs and cut
them in half to fit around the poles.
According to Nzumu I am Tara: fundi of the
shower! I'll take that!
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