Project Update (Week Two)

Back in K-Town (Kumba) for another weekend, and limited time to write, with so many things to write...Here goes..

The project is moving very well. Most of the week was spent continuing to excavate for the dam/catchment and moving more sand, concrete, and gravel from the lakeside to the catchment site. On friday we poured the entire concrete dam, using over two cubic meters of concrete (14 bags of cement). All of the concrete was mixed by hand with shovels and the formwork was made from timber cut in the jungle a kilometer away and the posts were made of small trees. We cut the forms with machetes because the wood was still very wet and the saws we bought from the hard ware store just didn't cut it. Digging on the trench for the pipeline was suspended for the week because community work was needed for transporting materials and pouring the concrete (bucket brigade).

Work will continue Monday as digging will continue and we will finish concrete work at the catchment site with construction of the collection chamber. We are working with two plumbers to help join the iron pipes, so that work will begin by wednesday and then its a straight shoot until we reach the village. The terrain provides only 2 high and low points, which makes constructing the pipeline fairly easy. We will see.