This being our third round of building, I feel like I know the process now! First Emmanuel needs to collect pebbles or aggregate to mix with the cement. This can be a challenging task. Pebbles have become more difficult to obtain and expensive as they are in short commodity, as the government wants a majority of the pebbles for their building purposes. Emmanuel searched and searched and found his first load of pebbles along a roadside. He purchased them for some what of a discount, about $500 rather than $600 usd. He ultimately has needed two more loads of pebbles.Aggregates or pebbles as Emmanuel calls them are hand shoveled into the truck.
Sand is the next material needed. Sand seems to be in readily available. Emmanuel does not have to “hunt” for sand. I am continually amazed at these big trucks that come up Kisongo Street!Bags of cement are the next supply to obtain. The price of cement bags has varied over time, but generally stays about the same.
Steel is next. We will need thicker steel for this building as the walls will be taller. 12 mm vs 10 mm. More expensive.Rough sketch of the building size and configuration.
To save some money, Emanuel had the Maasai women chip bigger rocks into smaller rocks that we purchased.
