Wednesday (28th) saw the start of digging of the pits for latrines. 6 are underway. The pit is 2 meters in diameter and 10 meters deep and they dig it by hand. It is quite amazing to watch the precision that is achieved with a spade and pick axe.
I am still fascinated by how they will go down ten meters by hand. I am told that as they go down they will cut foot and hand holds into the wall, and when they get too deep to throw the dirt out, they will use a bucket and rope to bring the soil to the surface. Eventually, when the light is bad because they are so deep, they will take a candle down which will help the air circulation and give them light. They will also be connected to a rope to help bring them up, and to bring up the soil. (They tell me that there are accidents and deaths at times, if they don’t get the walls right it can cave in.)So this is happening alongside my work of architectural and construction genius, the Shelter. Every now and then I hear the word Muzungu (white man) and laughter. I’m sure they’re laughing at my building techniques, but it’s working! It’s amazing what you can do with one saw, one hammer and a measuring tape.
Isaac and I have identified two young blokes that have potential and who are willing to work alongside us, even in the rain. So we are teaching them how to build, (don’t laugh). And we think these will be the two we approach to be trained to repair and maintain the pump.
