Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Test Block

 First you measure the soil and cement...
 then you mix it up, and add water....

 then you pack it in...
 press it down...
 He used the jack to compress it.
 ta-da! an interlocking block!
Bob tested his block machine yesterday. He used a jack to compress it, as the lever is not yet made. But he couldn't wait to try it out!

Friday, May 4, 2012

How the garden grows

 It's been raining for a few days. It seems the rainy season has finally come! It's been lovely and cool. Reminds me of spring in Texas. Actually it's making me a bit homesick. It's so nice not to be sweating all the time. To enjoy snuggling with the kids, rather than bearing the extra heat they bring when they crawl in my lap.

It is time to plant trees and gardens. Yesterday we planted Purple beauty bell peppers and yellow peppers in these cups. We will transplant them at the farm in two or three weeks.
 Bob continues to work on this interlocking block form. Here it is so far. Next the tricky part- making the press lever.
 We planted the little garden at the house a couple weeks ago. Unfortunately nothing that we planted came up, other than a few lettuce sprouts which have been eaten by some kind of creature. Bush babies or a big caterpillar, is my guess. But look at this nice stand of....sorghum! Where did that come from??
Well, Bob mixed sorghum in the last batch of chicken feed. We used chicken manure to fertilize the garden....I guess that sorghum wasn't digested too well!
 There's also a few burgundy okra plants growing. Bob likes the stuff. It tastes pretty good made with coconut milk!


 And this is some pretty fungus growing on our fence post.

Can this kid pout, or what??? My almost-two-year-old can be pretty moody nowadays!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Manufacturing



Today, Baba G is manufacturing an interlocking block form. Our place is VERY noisy today with all the grinding, cutting, and welding of thick iron.

measuring- it must be just so....
Here's the sample block he is using to create the form.
This is the beginning of our house in the shamba! The blocks will be made with cement and soil. Although there are many rocks at the place already, B thinks it will actually be faster and cheaper to make these blocks instead of building with rock.