The concrete roof was pour on the new Clinic building on Friday, June 5. for those of us used to large cement mixers and related apparatus, you will see from the picures that construction methods are somewhat different in rural Haiti.
The concrete is mixed in a pit on the ground, put into buckets and then passed up to the roof, where is it poured about five inches thick across the lattice of reinforcing steel rods that have been tied together, etc. The electric conduit is laid in the roof before the concrete is poured for the light fixtures, electrical outlets, etc. You can see the wheel barrow that they use to move the concrete to the far corners of the roof.
Underneath the reinforcing steel bars is 3/4 inch plywood held up by the forest of bamboo that you can see
from the front. It is very labor intensive, but gets done in one day. The guys who do this back breaking work all day make about $20 each for the day, and get to share in a gallon or two of moonshine that is provided after the work is done. It is hard work, but the workers are happy to have the cash income, which is not easy to find in Haiti.
from the front. It is very labor intensive, but gets done in one day. The guys who do this back breaking work all day make about $20 each for the day, and get to share in a gallon or two of moonshine that is provided after the work is done. It is hard work, but the workers are happy to have the cash income, which is not easy to find in Haiti.
We have to let the roof cure for about 2 weeks before the bamboo and plywood can be removed. Then we can move ahead with the finishing of walls, ceilings and floors; installation of electricity, plumbing, doors, windows, etc. We are targeting completion in late October and full Clinic operations by the end of the year.
Check out the pictures below, and keep watching for more updates as the Clinic continues to take shape.