Ethiopia Habitat Build Site 1

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – 2014. Build site number one was a four unit toilet. This site was handled by the “A” team of which I was a member. The pit had been excavated and the forms for the concrete floor slab were in place on our arrival. Our initial work was installing the rebar, after which we hand mixed the concrete which took two days and then laid the concrete blokes for the walls. On the last two days we did the cement work for the corner columns and laid in a small pad.
The sand and gravel dumped on the road waiting for us to start work
The first job - getting the rebar in place
Progress on building the walls.
Preparation for a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony
Brewing (boiling?) coffee
Hauling the concrete from the road to the toilet slab
It doesn’t look like much, but a lot of work was done to mix and carry this concrete to fill in this corner of the floor slab
Hand mixing concrete – hard work!
A late afternoon rain storm that stopped all work for the day
Day two and most of the floor slab has been made
Morning coffee preparation on day two. Roasting of the coffee beans
Roasting coffee beans over a charcoal burner
Six courses of block on one wall. Ten courses needed.
Six courses of block on one wall. Ten courses needed.
Dry mixing stone, sand and cement
End of day three
End of day three
End of day three
Day four and getting higher. Progress is slower because of the height
End of day four
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