Jess and I soon realized that our own construction would not be quite that easy.
First, we needed to plant the two main roof supports into the ground; since our only man-made tools in building this hous kuk consisted of the tarp roof, a bush knife, an axe, and some string, we attempted to follow in the workmen’s footsteps by slamming the posts into the ground, wiggling them around, then slamming some more, until they reached a suitable depth (8-12 inches, so the rains don’t wash it away). After a good many minutes and blisters later and only about 4 inches down (later, we found out our ground was unusually hard and made of clay…), we began to see the value of community building projects :) One of the workmen in particular took pity on us, and after lifting out our hard work with a twist of one hand, helped us create a suitable foundation.
In this photo I'm much further along, working on the first counter, but you get the gist of what the whole thing looks like |
Ha. We soon named our house The Beavers.
Wood chips were scattered everywhere as we pecked away at our logs with the various cutting implements, rarely hitting in the same place twice, and barely making a dent in the hard wood despite our attempt to mimic the smooth swinging action of the workmen. But, where technique lacks, perseverance (or desperation?) can prevail, and Jess and I took turns until we had a stack of logs with gnawed off edges in the general vicinity of the same length. And now, we simply have a large pile of fire-starting woodchips!
Next we set to tying and wrapping logs together with our bundles of red and green string, often in knots more creative than even a seaman could think of. But hey—stuff is still holding!
Several of our very enthusiastic helpers! |
Now Jess and I are adding the finishing touches to our hous kuk. We’ve decided to install a second countertop and reinforce the sink. Decorations are next on the list, and seeing as our bush-knife chopping technique is improving, we might even get a bit fancier. Extreme Home Makeover, here we come!