Homes for Sudan HS4S: Week Fifteen: Mayo Building Workshop hosted by Mayo Women’s Association

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This week's two benchmarks were finishing the last smooth coat of plaster on the outside of the second dome, and the final coup de grace of pouring the mezzanine!

Babiker stretches out in front of the building as the team finished the final smooth plaster coat!

The women will have quite a unique building. Though it will have cost more due to the fancy staircase, the inner arena benches, and the mezzanine, we have a really fun showcase building that the ladies will enjoy using for their training and business center.

The beautiful stairs largely designed
by Mubarak and Mujtaba before
the final smooth coat of plaster

Abdlrazeg and Lila work on
refining the arches with a smooth
coat of plaster - while Big Red
(in black this time) watches

The team was disappointed that we were not going to paint it white, as they showed us pictures of Ustaz Hooman’s building in Oman, which is luxurious and white.

One of Ustaz Hooman's projects in Oman

Ours will be luxurious and sand colored, as is appropriate for a ‘haboob’ (sandstorm) prone place with silt blowing around all of the time. Best to have the building a lovely silt color.

Fatima, Lila, Rihab, and Abdlrazeg at the OK Corral

Suliman, Ahmed Ali (AKA Dr. Turab) and Abubaker behind the OK Corral

We are coming down to the last week crunch of an already extended project. It has taken us four more weeks than anticipated. We estimated two and a half months, it has taken three and a half months. But, this was complete with training, which makes it a longer process. One we believe will carry on after our 'grand opening' next weekend.

Saifadin (from the Malam Darfur projects) smooths the plaster around the entrance

Our welder works on the stairs to the mezzanine - made with material from the old zinc
building torn down by Mathi and Djo on the first week of the project

The Engineers on the team (Mubarak and Mujtaba) helped Djo and the welder put together
the lattice work for the mezzanine - the others were filled in on the methodology
This was a first experiment done in metal rather than wood in deference to
the scarcity of wood in many parts of Darfur

Djo and Abdlrazeq work on the final
smooth coat on the first dome

Djo points out some of the finer
details of plastering to the team on the
second dome

Mathi, Mujtaba and Abubaker
consult on the upper escape
window

One of the lower windows with
the plaster smoothed and nice

Some of the team were already fairly experienced in plasterwork like Amjed and Suliman, which helped the process along for the finishing touches. On Thursday, the whole team pulled together to pour the concrete for the mezzanine (the only part of the building that is not just stabilized earth). Adam takes some of the great pictures on Thursday! He is the team driver, but does so much more - contributing fully to the team effort!

Mathi looks very happy about the completed mezzanine

Djo is pretty amazed that their persistence in a new endeavor payed off, and the team managed to
learn an 'on the job invented accoutrement'

It was a fun day with everyone getting a bit silly while pouring... this will be our first endeavor to load a short video on the blog, but worth it...

This week we wrote a preliminary proposal for a follow up project to support all of the trainees. Four will return to the Malam Darfur project where we discussed with Lukman (Washington director Malam Darfur Peace and Development), Habib and Noon (Sudan and Darfur directors) doing a project designing and building a ‘family compound’ for Darfur.

Lukman visit: Guy from Habitat, Saifadin, Mujtaba, Hassan, Bushara,
Mohammed Issa (Malam), Lukman (Malam Darfur & BBC Correpsondent), Lila,
Habib (Malam director),
Noon (Malam director), Rihab, Fatima, Ahmed Ali, Suliman,
Back row: Ahmed Abubaker, Adam, Amjed and the welder,
Abdlrazeg and Rashid (Malam) sit on the window

This will consist of 3 domes, a wall around it with apses or buttresses creating spaces for animals in the compound. This was an idea that Ustaz Hooman, HS4S's director (AKA Doc), and USAID's Jason had already discussed, but it aligned very well with some of the Malam and ARC Peace plans.

Architect Mubarak will take the technology to Darfur for NOHS, Big Red for SHPDO,
Ahmed Abdulrahman will be looking for a job as he has a masters degree and gained valuable
experience this summer, Abdlrazeg will finish his masters degree and take the knowledge of
his degree and his practical dome building experience to his West Darfur village, Bushara from
Mayo, who already has construction experience is ready for leading a project in the
Khartoum area, Rashid will be the team lead back in Malam, Engineer Mujtaba will
be ready to take this to Darfur for NOHS, Abubaker has a mission with SHPDO where
some villagers have already raised funds for a mosque, and Amjed will finish his
law degree, but have more skills to rebuild his country and region of Nuba Mountains

We will also follow up with the NOHS, SHPDO, ARC Peace Sudan, and Mayo folks to encourage the next projects that have been proposed by local groups, and lend whatever assistance necessary.

Mathias, Jooren, and Mubarak survey a hard day's work with satisfaction from the cistern
A finished fourth coat of plaster on the outside of the domes and a mezzanine!
Djo and Mathi will return to Belgium and raise funds for their next Nepal
adventure in building! and we hope they will come back to help us
along with Ustaz Hooman in Darfur

Portraits of our future 'Ustazes'