HABITAT BUILD - WEEK 1, NEAR POKHARA, NEPAL

    HABITAT BUILD NEAR POKHARA, NEPAL

OUR BUILDING SITE

VIEW OF LAKE FROM BUILDING SITE

ANOTHER VIEW FROM OUR SITE.  NOTICE THE HIMALAYAS

     Finally the day had come to start house building for a family in  Nepal. What a delight it was to meet our new family who would work with us throughout the build.


    Ashaunti and Mahendra with three children, Rajan (9), Rajiv(4), and Rituk (4 months),  live in the rich terraced foothills of Fishtail Peak and the Himalaya Range  in a municipality called Lekhnath outside of Pokhara.    They are the lucky ones Habitat has selected to participate in building a new home. Their new home will consist of two rooms located next to their present tiny structure.  Their bathroom will continue to be located outside the home and water will still come from faucet located on the road near their home.
   
     It is interesting to find  out that Mahendra and family are of the Newari ethnic group and Brahmin caste,  the upper level caste.   I had imagined that  being a Brahmin meant  that you were both well educated and of means,  but caste is a complex social divider and is still strong in Nepal.  A college educated person  told me that it is possible to identify a person's caste by their facial structure.  He said the  pointed nose is a  sign of being Brahmin.  An add that to the fifty some ethnic groups  of  Nepal and it  is  all quite confusing1

    We  twenty-one Habitat builders will hopefully complete their  bamboo and plaster structure in our two weeks here. 

     The magnificent Himalayas met us at our work site.  Can you imagine working  at the  foothills of a peak more than 20,000 feet high?  It was  an unbelievable moment standing  on the ground where we would be building and seeing nothing  but magnificent   peaks all around us and a beautiful pristine Lake Begnas directly below .  We couldn't stop taking photos of the sights.

MAHENDRA, OWNER OF OUR BUILDING SITE

SANTI, WIFE OF MAHENDRA

SANTI AND DAUGHTER, RITUK

     Our first  jobs were  to clear out the work site, move all supplies and materials away from work area. measure for  the placement  of the new building.  and begin measuring, marking, and cutting  bamboo which will serve as the frames  and slats for the exterior walls of the  new Habitat home.

CONNIE AND CAROLYN PREPARING THE BAMBOO FOR WALL WEAVING

CAROLE, THE BAMBOO SPLICING EXPERT

GETTING THE WALL BEAMS READY

PRITI AND MARTIN ON TASK MAKING THE WALL BEAMS

    The next projects were digging the trench and holes to support the wall beams.




 

DIGGING THE TRENCH

LOTS OF DIGGING FOR THAT TRENCH, PAM

     Finish the wall framework and place all wall panels in designated locations.  Even all sections of the framework and pour cement into the prepared foundation wells.   Begin cutting, smoothing, and measuring the slats for the wall weaving.  The approaching week-end will provide plenty of time for the concrete to dry.