Plastering and more

Sorry for the lack of progress reports but here are a few pictures to show where we are now. The internal walls are drywall on timber frames. These 2 pics show how we insulated for sound. 1st one shows old onion bags and clothes seen into tubes and stuffed with reclaimed packaging pellets.

 And above showing egg boxes stuffed with waste fabric scraps and hot glued onto the panel. We also used rolls of old bubble wrap in the toilet wall.

Here,  I am filling the gaps in the brown layer of plaster where the timber frame showed. It needed a lot of clout nails first to act as anchors for the straw rich mix.

Jan has been making door frames from reclaimed timber beams and friends gave us 3 Oregon pine doors which all have a place now. He also made a bathroom cabinet from plywood his dad had in his shed. It's primed and ready for painting and some stainless steel legs. More on the bathrooms later. 

All the electrical wiring is in place. Next is plumbing and a challenging part- getting water up to a high point to deliver some pressure to the shower.  Boy is it difficult to find just a cylinder to act as a tank!

We are hoping for some tall volunteers to help us shorties put up the ceiling panels. No small job. Cant wait for that insulation to arrive. It will be a big step forward .

Cheers for now.

The end is near

We are finally nearing the end of cobbing and setting straw bales. I am guessing only 6 more full days required.

Scaffolding in place to get the last 2 rows up. They're even heavier if you are lifting above your head!

So next is plastering and electrical. The plastering requires chopped straw which adds strength. Our old shredder will be called into action again.

We will start at the bathroom because technically once that's done and all in place, we can move in. Now to save for that septic tank.

Keep you posted.

New volunteers stamping clay

Maiwenn stamping clay for the next batch of bales

So aubergines need heat to germinate. Preferably over 18 degrees. I don't have a dedicated space for this right now so I am using my compost heap. I dug a hole in my steaming compost heap and put the seed tray in it. I covered with black shade cloth with a layer of compost over the top. Tomorrow I will move the tray to a new spot and remove the covering compost but not the cover. Let's see how many days until germination. 

A new chicken tractor. Again. We had to leave the last one at the previous farm. A friend gave us an old trailer so I am welding bits on to strengthen it. It gets a sealed plywood floor, nutec walls and a corrugated iron roof. All the bits and pieces are off the farm except the floor and walls. More to come...

Volunteer info update -August 2017

Several of our past volunteers have been bugging me to post more details about volunteering here on the farm. So here are our loose plans for the next 2-3 months. Things change along the way but this is our basic plan.

Firstly, the weather is a huge factor for us and since we have not yet had as much rain as we would like, need or expect, we will probably have a wet early October like the 1st year we were here.
A lot of the work we do is outdoors and so we are rather weather dependent. Definitely a case of making hay while the sun shines!

The 5 main areas in order of importance are:
-finishing our straw house and barn
-planting summer crops
-re-fencing the farm
-building a new chicken tractor
-upgrading the volunteer area

The house is well on its way but there is still a lot to do. 1 main wall of straw bales to erect, plastering, electrical, plumbing etc
The barn only begins after the house is complete.

This year I will be planting maize agian- as long as we get enough rain! Of course I will sow every other vegetable I can get into the ground. Some for food and market sales and some for seed production. Compost making is critical here.

The fences on the farm are terrible  and since it's not the most intellectual job, we are replacing it section by section.
It is really important as we grow our farm though.

The chicken tractor is a thorn in Jans side!  He says he is not building another 1. I need a bigger 1 to expand my flock of egg laying hens so am looking for handy volunteers to help me complete this.

Lastly, we have reclaimed bricks, pavers and a huge steel bbq and want to set this up for our volunteers. The cabin needs a small deck, ceiling boards and the bathroom needs some maintenance. We want to overhaul our caravan so we can accommodate 4 volunteers at a time. This area must be really comfortable and just fun to live in.

So these are my priorities. Lots of fun and games and great opportunities to learn many new skills. Come play!

Small steps

I love purple baby potatoes! Planning to grow a lot more this summer.

Our front door fully enclosed. Glass still to come.  Getting somewhere.

Volunteers working hard

Margot et Anthony (French) and Jan playing soccer in the beautiful  light. Max and the 2 dogs are on the sidelines.

Champagne for my birthday braai and a game to cheer on. Another Tough day in Africa.