Wood Shop Update

It has been about two months since we've been here in Guyana and so many things have been happening. One of the most exciting things has been to watch the steady progress that's been happening on the wood working shop. When we arrived at BMMC the shop was only a frail skeleton of the floor. There was MUCH to be done! Both Michael and Aaron got involved with the project within the first week of arrival (I even helped a little!). Since then people have been working on the project on and off as they can.

It would be lovely if it could be diligently worked on day after day until completion, but (as always) there have been fairly regular setbacks that have slowed things up a bit. Some of the obstacles that the crew has faced have been things like rainy days (I mean REALLY rainy days), broken generators, projects leaders being away, broken equipment, lack of laborers, etc. Despite it all, they have really done a lot and the shop is taking shape.

Now the floor is solid, all the walls are up, and the rafters have been set in place. The last step is getting the roof on. Then of course they will have to figure out the installation of doors and windows, build work benches and storage for the smaller tools, and get all the shop equipment set up inside but that will come in time.

The goal was to have the roof on by the time the rainy season hit. We have had some rain, but we aren't in the thick of it yet. Michael suggested putting wooden shingles on for roofing since it is about $2000.00 cheaper than the typical zinc roofing. Gilbert seems quite interested in that so they are doing a bit more research before they start putting anything up. I having a feeling they will figure something out pretty soon though. The rain's a comin'!