‘Head-top’ Construction

After a month and a half of weekly meetings work has commenced on the Herbal Garden Hut out by the Kindah (One Family) Tree.

After 2 official workdays (lunch provided through the grant money, but all labor volunteered) and numerous additional hours and supplemental prep work, here’s what the community has accomplished…

*200 concrete blocks have been loaded into a truck, dropped off 150 yards from the building site, and then transported by wheel barrow and ‘head-top’ (yes, literally on top of the head) to the site


*6 cubic yards of marl (gravel fill) was delivered by truck and then transported again by wheel barrow and ‘head-top’ (in buckets this time)

*Over two tons of ‘rock-stones’ have been wrenched from the ground using pick-axes, ‘burst’ up (broken) with sledge hammers and then carried by hand and… yup, ‘head-top’, uphill to the building site, to be used in building the ‘cut-stone’ wall
  
*54 hardwood poles (12-22 feet long) have been cut in the bush, carried to the building site (some from over a mile away, yes, via the same ‘head-top’ method) and then ‘skinned’ (peeled) of their bark with machetes and standard kitchen knives

*The 25’ diameter old, sagging slab on top of the original foundation has been ‘burst-up’ with sledge hammers and leveled to make way for the new slab that will be poured (concrete) on top

*The 8 corner posts have been erected and cemented into place

*25 people came out for the first workday and 35 for the second. Three whole chickens, ten pounds of rice and 5 gallons of Kool-Aid, including seasonings is about what is required to feed a workforce of this size

The high level of community turn-out for this project has been heart-warming. To carry stones alongside 6 and 56 year-olds feels like a privilege and to know that all labor is volunteered strengthens our commitment to our work here. We don’t live in a perfect place, but projects like this truly strengthen community.