Where things stand
The site extends beyond just a hole in the ground: off to the river and the village’s bamboo groves to gather the materials needed for the next stage of construction.
What happened
To make the concrete used on site — a mix of cement powder, sand, stone and water — sand was needed. The team headed to the nearby river to collect it, before coming back to clean up and get back to work on site.
Collecting and sieving sand in the river
This stage marked the start of a major new undertaking: digging a trench estimated at 100 to more than 200 meters, connecting the well to the planned site of the water tower, on especially steep, hillside terrain. This trench, meant to hold the water pipe, was dug by hand with shovels to a depth of about 45 centimeters (one and a half feet) along its entire length — made even harder by the steepness of the terrain.
Part of the village’s work also involved making bricks, hand-molded from local clay and left to dry in the sun — a step carried out alongside the village monk.
Hand-making bricks, alongside the village monk
Another standout expedition from this stage: a trip to the village’s bamboo groves, to fetch large poles needed for construction — a trip that had to be done in pairs, walking through the groves, not always easy (one harmless fall along the way!). Only two members of the team made this trip, which is why there are so few photos of this particular stage.
In fact, the day dedicated to the river and the sand was described by one of the participants as “absolutely wild”—what with the mud, the current, and the countless trips back and forth to fill the buckets, this stage will undoubtedly remain one of the most memorable, both physically and in terms of the memories made.
Back on the main worksite, the team tackled the installation of the four pillars meant to support the future water tower, one on each side of the structure, starting by building the steel reinforcement cage for each pillar. Each pillar then required a significant amount of concrete — made with the crushed stone and sand collected earlier — once again carried over using the human chain.
Assembling a pillar’s steel reinforcement cage, and preparing crushed stone for the concrete
A break by the river with the team and village residents
Highlight
The river and the bamboo groves, two unexpected backdrops that gave the worksite a completely different feel, somewhere between demanding manual labor and immersion in the surrounding nature. The day devoted to the river and the sand was even described by one of the participants as “an absolute whirlwind” — between the mud, the current, and the many trips back and forth to fill the buckets, this stage will likely remain one of the most memorable, both physically and in everyone’s memory.
