Posted in Cambodia on October 2, 2024
Day one, bus then boat to the site.
Ready to go, drills, hammers, spanners to hand.
It’s really hot, don’t forget to drink lots of water, (35deg c).
Lots of nailing, then drilling, then bolts.
Lunch time a welcome relief.
It’s time to go now.
Night time swim.
Good food good night.





Day 2
First the planks get planed.
Luckily machinery is operated by local craftsmen.
Over to our team to sand the edges off the boards and; Organise them into place on the joists.
Ready to be fixed in place.
Banging in nails.
Over and over again.
And then hammer some more nails.
Really satisfying work to see a floor:-
Develop.
Success!





Day 3
Following on from getting to floor level yesterday we;
Raised building to roof level today.
Applying paint to exterior timbers.
Making roofing nails that will be watertight.
Everybody wet.
An hour and a half of heavy rain.
Nothing much we can do.
Dry (or not) we just kept on going without power tools.
Rain finally stopped at lunchtime.
Afternoon was spent:-
Installing stud work for walls and roof trusses.
National holiday tomorrow so beer, python and duck to celebrate end of day.






Day 5
Final day of week one.
Lots still to do!
Organising the barrels.
And painting timber.
Tacking final wall sheets.
In preparation for house launch.
New home owner helping.
Grid that supported knocked out.
Heaving the home into the water.
Owner and family happy.
Made a home.
Emotions high.






Day 6
Happy first day for team two
And everyone got stuck right in
Many smiley faces
Melting in the heat
Exceptional lunch
Racing on the boats home
Insects crawling everywhere
Night time swims together
Good nights rest




Day 7


Painting fascias, posts, beams and covering pieces.
All blue and sticky odorous.
Initially just us.
Next loads of village children helping.
Touching paint with their hands then being told off by parents.
Installing newly painted beams.
Nearly finished painting, ran out of paint.
Going out for cooking class tonight.



Day 8
Driving to site with half the bus asleep
Ready for another day of hard work
Ice cold water to keep us refreshed
Laughter from the local kids keeping us smiling
Lovely lunch chilling in the breeze
I believe we’re doing well
Nearly finished all the floor boards
Good days work now back to the pool
Soon we will hand the houses over
And it’s all hands on deck
Working together to get it done
Inside of the houses the walls are forming
Now all that’s left is the roof
Goodbyes are getting close




Finishing the build was tough
Including knowing it was our last time there
Nobody was ready to say goodbye
All the finishing touches were added
Leaving a new life changing house standing





Drills and tools packed away we were ready to give the houses to the new owners
And tears were shed
Yet none were tears of sadness
Posted in Cambodia on October 2, 2024