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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

EcoShell Construction Begins in Haiti!


Hello H.E.R.O. Supporters!

This is the first of several posts that will detail the 3 week construction process during the month of September in Maniche!  Dan Hildebrand of Hildebrand Construction came down to begin the process of building an EcoShell for the H.E.R.O. Youth Development Center.  The EcoShell will be 40ft in diameter and 16ft tall.  Dan's wife, Sarah, was kind enough to post updates on the status of the construction during the entire time, so most of what you will read is written by her.  It was an absolutely amazing experience!  Construction in rural Haiti is like nothing else, and is definitely not for the faint of heart!  E-mail me if you have any questions!  steven@haitihero.org

29TH AUGUST
Work started on the field. 
 



30TH AUGUST
Dan spent the day in Les Cayes sorting out some equipment issues (the roll bender wasn’t working, etc).
The rocks were delivered today. Work continued on the field. Apparently everything gets put away at the end of every day (even the string) because otherwise someone will take it; this adds lots of extra work to the day. The craziness is starting to seem normal.


31ST AUGUST
Steve found a compressor that will work and a small mixer (Which by the way, both of these broke and had to be repaired continuously the entire 3 weeks! SK). The ground was prepped (getting it level and above any flood line) ready for the form on Saturday. The combination of teaching the local workforce and the language issues are making everything a little slower.



1ST SEPTEMBER
The form was done. Ready to pour the concrete slab tomorrow. 


2ND SEPTEMBER
Some of the steel is in place, once finished the concrete slab can be poured. Still struggling to find a compressor and a decent generator but that shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise as it is impossible to even find wood screws or washers in this part of Haiti. The roll bender was fixed and it works on the pipe Dan took with him. 


3RD SEPTEMBER
Steve went to Port Au Prince to find a generator and a mixer. A good day today, things went smoothly. (I towed a generator on the back of a Ford Ranger for 7 hours over some of the craziest roads ever!  And mind you the generator was attached to the bumper of the vehicle with one chain, we didn’t have a tow bar or anything! SK)

4TH SEPTEMBER
The slab is almost poured so they’re just waiting for Steve to return from Port au Prince with the generator and mixer. Now they need to find some air hose and a compressor! It is slightly challenging to deal with the fact that any and every piece of equipment that you buy breaks the first day that you use it, but this is almost matched that the welder in town can seemingly fix everything with a piece of rebar and a hammer. Nothing really goes as planned but seems to happen anyway- just in a different time frame.
The build is a little behind schedule but the quality of the work is great. 





1 comment:

  1. I love this project because it benefits to everybody. Good job guys and I salute you all.

    ReplyDelete