I traveled to Comayagua on September 21, 2011, to work with Nelson Martinez to complete delivery of the first wave of materials and to begin the construction phase of the Justa Stove Project in Planes and Playitas. Playitas is located a steep two kilometers down the mountainside to the west of of Planes. The Project plans to build Justa stoves in each of the approximately 60 houses of Planes and Playitas.
Church and Brigade Clinic in Planes
The materials required to build the stoves includes cement, sand, concrete block, brick, steel rebar, construction wire, a steel "plancha," galvanized steel chimney lengths, wood (for concrete forms), and nails, as well as a variety of tools. The following day we drove to the highest point we could reach by road, due to adverse weather conditions typical of the rainy season, and hiked up to Planes from there. This spot happens to be where the first of the houses of Planes is located. Nelson and I stayed in Planes for the next three days and nights.
Delivery of the first wave of materials had begun under Nelson's supervision a few days before my arrival. Nelson drove some of the lighter materials himself, but the heavier materials, i.e., the ones being provided by the municipality, were delivered in a truck owned by the Comayagua Department of Public Health. The materials were unloaded at the same house on the edge of Planes, and from there they had to be hauled up to Planes where they were stored awaiting our arrival.
Road up to Planes from Don Donaldo's House
Packing Bricks and Loading Mules
Next to the School
Mules Packed and Ready to Go Next to the School
Mules Loaded with Brick
Heading to House Up the Mountainside
The hauling of the materials was done entirely by the people of Planes and Playitas, using mules and their own back. Anyone who has hiked that last stretch of the trip to Planes knows that it is a very steep pitch, and during the rainy season, it is quite muddy and slippery. Needless to say, getting all of these various materials up to Planes was quite a logistical feat, and it was entirely organized and managed by Nelson. He has done a phenomenal job in getting this all accomplished, especially in light of all of the obstacles that have been encountered along the way.
Fortuitously, the Mayor of Comayagua was visiting Planes the day we arrived. As a result, all of the people of Planes were present in the town center when we arrived. We took advantage of the opportunity to convene a meeting of all of the adults in which we discussed the ongoing delivery of materials, their responsibility to provide sand and ash needed for construction, and the Justa Stove Project generally. We also introduced the masons retained for the Project and explained the need for cooperation and mutual support.
Nelson Leading Pre-construction Meeting
Masons, Left Foreground, Are Introduced
Upon our arrival in Planes, we learned that the Department of health truck had a tire blowout on its return trip from the first large delivery for the project. They advised that they did not have sufficient funds to replace the tire, and that as a result it would have to be decommissioned until they received an additional appropriation, a process likely to take months. We decided that, in light of the fact that we were saving so much by using their truck rather than hiring a private vehicle and driver, we should use some of our contingency funds to buy a used tire for the Department (about $100), so that we could keep our project moving forward. As a show of gratitude for our donation, the Department's truck driver worked on Saturday (not a usual work day) to deliver us the first 1,000 bricks.
It was truly extraordinary to work with the people of Planes and Playitas that Saturday and to see both how hard they worked and how well they were organized in unloading the truck, packing 1,000 bricks onto 25 mules, and making repeated trips up to the village to unload and stack them. By the next day, all of the bricks were transported to individual houses where stoves will be built, scattered over a considerable distance in the mountains surrounding Planes. Don Ismael, a citizen of Planes, was put in charge of maintaining a comprehensive list of materials distributed with the name of the owner of each house receiving block, cement, rebar and brick, with the steel parts to be delivered later. It was both extremely impressive and gratifying. Their efforts allowed the four masons we have retained to begin work building the stoves immediately.
The masons began the construction work right away, including demolition of existing stoves, layout, installation of a concrete foundation, construction of a block and concrete table (a "mesa") on which the stove is placed, and finally construction of the stove itself. Over the three days that we were there, the masons built all or part of seven mesas. In accordance with our plan, the first construction was in the "public areas" -- the kitchens of the church and the school, so that we could provide a demonstration for the people of Planes of the stoves they would soon receive. Mothers come to the school kitchen every school day, on a rotating basis, to prepare lunch for all of the school children. Once the Brigade's supplies are delivered this October, they will also begin preparing a hot cereal breakfast each school day.
Lead Mason and Me While Demolishing
the Existing Kitchen in the Church
Masons Setting Lines for Lay Out
for School Kitchen Stove
Masons Don Miguel and Don Francisco
and First Course of Block atop Footer
Completed Table Legs
Lead Mason and Don Francisco Troweling Concrete
for Tabletop of Church Stove
Finished Table for Church Kitchen Stove
Masons Laying First Course of Bricks
for Church Stove
During our last afternoon there, they began construction of the first stove, one in the church in the center of Planes, when we realized that we would need to make several design changes to accommodate variations in materials. The biggest problem is that the bricks provided by the municipality turned out to be an inch wider, a half inch thicker and a half inch longer than specified. Thus, we literally had to go back to the drawing board and recalculate all of the required measurements and come up with a way to make the materials work. We worked through all of these issues that evening and early the next morning, when Nelson and I had to return to Comayagua.
The next day, the lead mason called to advise Nelson that evening that the new design had worked perfectly, and they had completed the brickwork and concrete stove-top both in church and in the school. The day after driving me to the airport, Nelson returned to Planes to deliver the final pieces required to complete the stoves, the rounded bricks with a four-inch hole in the center which sit directly beneath the galvanized steel chimney.
Carrying Chimney Support Brick
Don Ismael in Center
(Nelson's Dog Lucky Leads the Way)
The masons then completed the two stoves. Nelson plans to return to Planes once again this Saturday (October 1), after allowing the concrete and mortar on the two stoves to cure for a couple of days, so that he can actually build a fire in them to confirm that they perform as intended.
Stove Built, Awaiting Center Brick and Chimney
No comments:
Post a Comment