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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2017)
4 Wednesday, December 6, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Sisters Habitat for Humanity builds in Cambodia By Carol Pedersen Moorehead Correspondent It’s hot and humid in Cambodia, the sun intense on this November day. Sweat is pouring onto my mortar bucket. Heat emanates from the blocks I am setting as we construct an exterior wall. Water from last night’s rain puddles on the dirt road we tread to reach the construc- tion site. Most of us do not per- form manual labor on a reg- ular basis, certainly not in these tropical conditions. If we visit the tropics, we play in the ocean and imbibe in fancy drinks with miniature paper umbrellas. Yet, here we are day after day hauling sand, cement and water to make mortar, filling our mor- tar buckets, laying blocks and climbing scaffolding as our exterior walls grow beyond our reach. Moreover, we paid our own airfare and a stipend for the privilege of doing this work in the enduring heat. Most of us will stay on for a week afterwards to tour more of this kingdom or make a visit to nearby countries. The families for which we build have become “our” families. A family representative was present each day at the build site and would assist in small ways. In the case of our family, Pin Chhoeu did not really meet his wife until they were married, not because of custom, but because the bru- tal Khmer Rouge regime that took over the country in the 1970s forced marriages to assure another generation of soldiers. Although the Khmer Rouge was driven out of Cambodia in 1979, this cou- ple is still together, and with their four younger children relish the opportunity to have a home free of flooding, with a flush toilet. We take care when apply- ing mortar and leveling the blocks to assure a secure structure. After we leave the build site around 4 p.m., some of the local paid con- struction workers continue the work and in the morn- ing, we inspect it, find fault with the way the blocks now slope or fail to match up. We “own” this work and want our sweaty efforts to pay dividends for our families for years and years to come. A team of 15 representing Sisters Habitat for Humanity flew to Cambodia recently to help build 23 homes under the guidance of Habitat for Humanity International G l o b a l Vi l l a g e . T h i s Cambodia Big Build attracted 253 international participants with teams of participants from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain, Hong Kong and the USA. Our Sisters team worked on two different houses, both made of compressed-earth blocks. The blocks are faster to make than classic fired brick and manufactured at a nearby site. There, work- ers scoop shovels full of soil onto a large screen where it is hand-sifted until a very fine product piles up below and is ready to combine with clay, cement and water then molded and compressed into blocks. The compressed PHOTO BY GARY MILLER A joyous celebration of a house built with love. A house now made a home for a Cambodian family. blocks are set in the sun to dry. Two days later, they will be stacked and kept watered for one to two weeks before they are building-ready. Five tools were indis- pensable for our project: the bricky tool — a gauge to lie upon the blocks as a frame for our mortar layer, a trowel to apply the mortar, a level to assure a flat surface, a rubber mallet for leveling the blocks and buckets to carry sand for mortar mixing and mixed mortar for application. A cement foundation and framework completed before See CAMBODIA on page 6 Let Us Help You Get Through Winter! 549-9388 SISTERS Wood Fuel Pellets & Delivery Insulated Faucet Covers Foam Vent Plugs Pipe Insulation Ice-melt and More! G I V E T H E G I F T O F A RT SMALLWONDERARTSHOWTHROUGHDECEMBER ONTHECORNEROFPINEST &W HOODAVE Interchangeable 3-way Earrings The BEST way to spread CHRISTMAS cheer is singing LOUD for all to HEAR. H Hours: M-F M F 8 to 5 5, S Sat. 8 to 4 4:30, 30 Cl Closed dS Sundays d 440 N. Pine St. • 541-549-8141 • www.hoyts.net — Buddy the Elf ave We H ing k Stoc rs! e Stuff Tim & Ronnica Westcott Jenny Duey 541-588-6611 541 588 6611 220 W. Cascade Ave. SAGE ROOM SPRD is the new place to come and enjoy new friends, activities, exercise classes, excursions, Ping Pong, or just a quiet cup of tea with friends! Open 5 days a week, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. View SPRD activities & classes, and register online at www.SistersRecreation.com 1750 W. Mckinney Butte Rd. | 541-549-2091 SNO CAP MINI STORAGE Sisters Industrial Park 157 Sisters Park Dr. • 541-549-3575 www.SistersStorage.com • State-of-the-art Security Technology • Sizes from 5x5 to 12x40 • Individual Gate Codes • Long-term Discounts • On-site Manager
