We’re building a house. The foundation was dug when we arrived. Nathan, the head mason, lays the corners and we lay bricks between. The bricks are porous and made from the red clay soil. You can see brick being made all over the villages. Then we use mortar and trowel to fill in the gaps. When it’s dried a bit, we clean up the brick surface with a wire brush and make lines between the bricks with a metal edge. Nathan stretches twine and uses a level to make sure the bricks match height. The foundation is made of compacted dirt and pulverized pieces of brick. We build with four other local masons, Frank and Agnes and their seven children who will live in the house, and tons and tons of kids. The kids are barefoot, wear torn clothes with Colorado emblems and Disney characters, and are incredible. They do a huge amount of work – shoveling, running wheelbarrows, and filling pans with mortar… all barefoot on a field construction site. It’s great! Between jobs, we take time out to play with the children. Squeals and smiles accompany soccer games, float around bubbles, and peer out at you from behind shy hiding places. The joy is infectious.
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