Studying local building methods

Now its been almost two weeks since I came to Tanzania - time goes fast when there is a lot to do! The first couple of days where spent in Mwanza. We took the opportunity to go to visit a site where they used a press to make interlocking stabilized soil blocks. Four people are needed to operate the machines, but at this production and building site they were many more to speed up the process. We got to see how the soil and cement are mixed, how the machine is operated, how the blocks are watered and cured, and also a finished example of a small building on site. 

We have also been here in Kolandoto village for some time now. I have been trying to better understand the local building traditions and techniques. At the hospital the buildings are mainly made out of concrete blocks with a plaster finish on the outside. The roofs are often made out of corrugated metal sheets laid on wooden trusses. The bricks are made by putting a cement and sand mixture in a wooden frame, and then letting the blocks slowly cure outside while watering them daily for a while. Piles of ready made concrete blocks are spread out at the hospital area. 

Yesterday I visited a more rural home and looked at other building methods. The older walls were made out of sun cured mud bricks, and they were quite visibly starting to fall apart from the outside. The roofs were made of wooded sticks and some plant material to cover. The owner of this home had started to produce mud bricks in a wooden form and then cured by burning them. However that seemed to be a tricky process since some of the burnt bricks did not get the same high quality. This was visible in the color of the bricks being more black instead of red, and it was possible to hear a clear difference in the sound of the blocks when nocking on them. The foundation on this site was made of stones and soil. 

Now I am going to leave this sofa at the guesthouse where most of the writing has happened so far and head up to the administration building where I got my own desk. 

/Annika