I helped with digging out some of the trench around the foundation which will be filled with cement mixed with rocks tomorrow. With a young Nepali man, I helped to straighten several large steel hooks that had a large, curved bend. I placed one end in a piece of bamboo, while he placed the other end in another piece of bamboo; I held my piece firm, while he pried the curve into a straightish piece. Then the steel rods had to be hammered perfectly straight and then Bob, our resident blacksmith, somehow produced a small, tight curve at the end of each one. As I understand it, these pieces will help to hold the metal roof in place somehow.
Today there was a LOT of work done with bamboo. The three Nepali workers (who know how this is done) created the framing for the house. They had power tools to drill large circular holes through which other bamboo poles were pushed and a small drill with which they drilled holes for the bamboo nails.
In addition to digging, the Habitat volunteers were responsible for handling the large curved knives (khukuris) in working with bamboo - whittling it down into strips for the horizontal lath, as well as about eight-foot strips for the vertical lath. Some others whittled smaller pieces into bamboo nails. I worked for about an hour and a half on one piece of lath alone. Bamboo is TOUGH! Others were a bit faster than me; however, as the days went on, I got better at holding my own.
All the digging was done by eyeballing it. When the Nepalis had finished the frame, many pitched in to stand it in place around the foundation. It turns out there were a few problems with things not matching up, so some more digging and sawing were done to make everything fit.
We packed up the tools and gear and arrived back at the hotel at about four p.m. I struck out on my own for dinner (I didn't want to wait until 6:30 - 7:30 before finally eating with the gang - last night it was 8:30 before I got my pepperoni flavored pizza). The pizza was very good, actually - much better than I expected; however, I'm just doing this quick post and am then heading back to my hotel room.
Pokhara is still Nepal; however, it is much, much more pleasant than Kathmandu. It is situated by a very large, beautiful lake, and from Pokhara one can see the towering, white mountain peaks of the Annapurna range - beautiful! I identified Machapachare (the "fish tail") peak right away. In fact, it is in view from my hotel window!
The hotel is quite nice. I have my own room, with a comfortable bed with sheets that actually smell clean!! I have a "European" toilet and can take a shower with hot water and there's a TV with about 50 stations on it. Last night I watched about an hour or so of "Mamma Mia" before turning in. I feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury right now.
Pictured below: the family for whom the house was built; me, after receiving a Tikka blessing as we climbed a hill and entered the worksite (and not realizing it was coming and so ended up very red in the face); me with a khukuri knife, stripping bamboo for lath, and photos of the house in progress.
