Earthship construction: Day 11
Today this unique Nicaraguan real estate project entered a new phase. Of the 11 Earthship experts from Taos, New Mexico, USA, only three remain. Ted Elsasser, Justin S, and Demian Larsen have all stayed on to continue to teach the local crew. Two new locals have joined the workforce. They had been observing the work on the site all week and volunteering their hands here and there. It seemed appropriate to make their involvement official.
It’s Monday and there is a different energy surrounding the site. With increased responsibility on the Nicaraguan crew, everything seems a little slow before lunch as adjustments are made. It is a great opportunity to observe how each person handles the new team dynamic.
By mid morning, it is announced that we are out of engineering fibers – a very difficult item to obtain in Nicaragua where most people simply use blocks and rebar.In our case, we are using bottles, cans, and even rebar as “forms” for the concrete pours, so we rely on the strength of the concrete we form. The fibers help strengthen the mix.
Ted, our architect on site, decides to reinforce a portion of the front wall with steel in order to continue working. Looks like we’ll be making a trip to Managua in the morning to find a replacement…
The afternoon seems slow as well. And then it’s 4:00p and we have a look around at the progress made.The vapor barrier has been placed and partially buried. A new truckload of cement and sand has arrived. The site is clean and organized with a good inventory of supplies. It looks like we’re in position to make some good progress this week.
