Construction Day One--Life in the Trenches

We had our first day on the site today, and it was a doozy. We had been warned that we would be digging the foundation, and that was the case!

Some of the foundation trenches had been at least started, but we had to get in there with picks and shovels and keep it going. [photo]

Meanwhile, half of us were attacking a giant pile of dirt that we need for the construction. But because of the geography of the site, the truck couldn't dump the dirt where we needed it to be. So, bucket by bucket by bucket, we moved that giant pile up to the house!

Lunch was provided by women in a cooperative in the Thrivent Builds community in the area. They also make various crafts to sell, and have an agreement with another cooperative to sell locally grown coffee!

But it was a great day. We met our family (many of whom, including the grandmother and. 9-year-old, worked alongside us all day) [photo]. Our masons seem to be nice, and even cracked a smile at jokes about swimming in the "pool" made when we were mixing concrete. And by the end of the afternoon, we had finished digging and poured the first few batches of foundational concrete!

Morning snack: yogurt, in all sorts of exotic flavors
Lunch: chicken, rice, vegetables, and tortillas
Afternoon snack: watermelon