Our three child homes. Just finished on the right, finished next month on the left.
You can see the road coming in from the bridge on the far left.
We have just completed our second child home (right in the picture) with one of our families to move in in a few days when some beds and furniture are completed. Our third home (on the left) finishes next month. We’ve been trying different contractors, and while the homes are essentially the same some of the details have come out differently. Even with one family, it has been really different being able to live in the village. As far as I can see, the differences have all been positive. By the end of next month, all will be here, including our crisis center people.
Chow line at a birthday party in our first child home. Son Nathan is standing with Pissamai our bookkeeper. Some of our elderly and staff to the right.
Homes are built differently here than what I am accustomed to in the US. First of all, it’s all concrete post and beam. You can build a home from wood. They’re more expensive but really nice. It can be a constant fight with termites and other insects. This climate makes things harder for a wood structure and other wood materials. In addition, they don’t have many fast and straight growing pine and fir trees to get framing lumber from like we do in the US and Canada.
Finished counters on the back porch of the just completed home. The wooden door frame/door units can be bought in different sizes and types at a building supply store.
Counters at the back of the third home before tile and doors. The sides are made from small bricks covered with some kind of plaster/concrete.
This even goes to the kitchen “cabinets” which are made from concrete and ceramic tile. I should tell you that our kitchens are somewhat open to the outdoors, but this is done even for completely interior kitchens. Tile is fairly inexpensive here. Everyone seems to use it for about everything, including counter tops, the sides of cabinets, the entire wall of a bathroom and all floors. You can buy normal cabinet modules here. You would still have to put a counter top on them, which here would be tile. The concrete and tile cabinetry they do here is way cheaper.
An earlier post tells about the construction of these homes.
