Container Update No. 2

August 01, 2019

Remember that container from Orphan Grain Train (click here to read related post)? Jim Brockmann shares the “rest of the story” in his narrative below:

Well done team!!!! Lots of long hard days and dedication from these guys — Al Bender, Zachary, and Arnie Danner — and they let me help! They have done so much on this July trip. The two containers that brought so much to Point of Grace Academy in May have now been converted into a new classroom space for the 60 + children in preschool. Once the finished wall is there, the last thing to add is a door they will enter through.

We were so happy to get one truss rafter up in the air after building the same thing over and over. Al did most of the measurements and Arnie did the cutting for the special pieces up on top. Jim and Zachary did most of the welding. Once working up on the top, we decided to start at daybreak (6:30am).

Ours won’t have insulation but as we added windows and doors, it became much more cooler and more comfortable from the large roof shading.

The result of our efforts: 1 shade roof with ventilation, 4 ventilation windows outside, 3 to the inside, plus 2 inside doors on both containers. Common area back door has not arrived yet, front double doors area in these photos are waiting on the mason. Upper ends of the roof trim plus gutters still waiting for local contractor. So at this point, we were about 1 day ahead of schedule for our part of this project.

What’s next on my list before we leave? High school buildings. Composting toilets. Book shelves for 18 classrooms. Solar electricity. Solar hot water. Hydroponic vegetable growing, and maybe we’ll add fish later. The goal would be to become more self-sufficient.

Our last piece of exciting news today? After 2 years of having a substantial deposit, Kenya Power Company delivered the three phase electrical supply last Saturday. We can now build a building for the grain mill to make flour and then a bread oven. Bread and chapatti is made from flour in case you slept thru that class…;-)