Oaxaca Trek, Day 5, Part 1

Our day’s work included work in the Los Olivos del Sol community: pouring the floors at Laura and Manuel’s houses, pouring the foundation at Alberto’s house, and re-digging out the foundation trenches after a night of pouring rain at Mauro’s soon-to-be-home.

2nd ESPERANZA HOUSE: Laura´s!

Laura.

Andrew. Prepping the rebar for the floor.

Juana and the Cacalote community pitching in!

Eduardo. Aimee. Dan.

Everyone pitching in to load the cement mixer for Laura´s floor!
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3rd ESPERANZA HOUSE: ALBERTO´S

Mason laying the rocks in the foundation trenches of Alberto´s home.

Hard to stay clean when mixing cement!

The bucket line. Pouring foundation of Alberto´s house.

Rosa and Erin. (note Rosa´s barefeet: community members showed up to help with whatever clothes they had - from barefeet and flipflops to skirts and blouses.

Erin pouring the concrete into the foundation trenches.

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4th ESPERANZA HOME: MAURO´S
Romeo (our driver) with Mauro, soon-to-be Esperanza home owner!

Breaking ground for Mauro´s home!
Hardest worker of us all. This man isn´t even associated with Esperanza, he is a neighbor of the Los Olivos del Sol community who showed up to dig foundation trenches at Mauro´s home before we arrived and was still working when our group left. Amazing.

Josue and Rosa digging in.

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While wheel barrowing the heavy cement from the cement mixer to the floor of the house is most often the task of men, Aimee rallied a few of us ladies to take over the task while pouring the floor at Laura’s house. Maneuvering the heavy wheelbarrow up the tentative boards to the house was a tricky ordeal, but we ladies persevered, with big ol’ smiles and a lot of laughter!

The all-ladies wheelbarrow team!

Katrina, Hana, Aimee, Laura, Erin, Deana

Laura and Aimee lining up to pour the concrete floor.

Rosa joined in on the fun!

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By the time our group took a break for lunch, Eduardo was covered from head to foot in cement dust, among other things that had been loaded into the cement mixer! Lunch was provided by various community members of Los Olivos del Sol, a spread of delicious Oaxacan food for both our volunteer group and the many community members who showed up to help out for the day.

Oh, Eduardo!

Lunch time at the worksite!

Lunch buffet: fish tacos, sopas, white rice, beans, mexican rice, mac n´cheese, hot dogs, mole chicken, fresh coconut water, salsa´s galore! And that´s just what I ate, I don´t know about everyone else! :)