Impermanence

Houses can be made of anything from cow dung, which has multiple uses,   these chic houses made of mud, wood or concrete.  Apparently you can even 3D print a house (I have tried repeatedly to grasp the idea behind the 3D printer and have as yet been unsuccessful.)

Being a former NY girl, I am mostly familiar with wood construction. And drywall- the stuff between the wood that makes up the walls. You can easily put a nail in drywall. As opposed to concrete. You can put a nail in concrete, just not easily. Concrete seems to be the material of choice here in Abidjan (actually touted at this school- yes, a school for concrete- as "the most commonly used building material on the planet" of which "most of the infrastructure of modern civilization has been built with...")  Seeing the signs of construction all around has completely changed my idea of the material.

Previously, I'd considered concrete to be a strong, permament material. Solid. In Congo, there were often piles of rubble- results of police coming along to tear buildings down. I'd look at those piles of rubble and think only solidly of how destroyed that building was. Mostly because I'd had little chance to see the opposite side of things- the building up. Now I know that buildings go up as easily as they can come down- and that all kinds of changes can be made in the middle process. Modifications, additions. Nothing is ever really as permament as it seems.

The first clue that someone is planning a bit of home remodeling is the twin piles- sand and rock. Streets in my neighborhood are often crowded with piles such as these just outside the gates. I've come to understand that even those things which give the appearance of being indestructible and everlasting may be operating under a faux persona.  It's forced me to see with new eyes, noticing the impermanence  underlying even the most substanial of things.

A sand pile signifies construction

There had been twin piles here but the rock one is already gone

A major remodeling job- the gate is torn down.
They are getting a second story as well as interior work.

They had twin piles, gone now. Appear to be getting a second
 story over the garage. Work is halted, another common sight.

The remanents of a stone pile

Square doors, round windows

Bamboo supports, always bamboo supports

These bamboo supports look like a work of art

A finished apartment building next to an empty lot. Abidjan is
 filled withsights like this- open country pierced by one
 odd brand new building in the middle of it all

Scaffolding

Interior bamboo supports

An "older" building next to one in the process of going up

Rubble- this used to be a house in the process of "going up"
Several houses in this neighborhood of construction were marked.
The police showed up and knocked them all down for non payment of taxes.
It won't be long before they are cleared away and built back up again.

People who were already living here (or squatting, I can never
actually figure this out- early renters? or just hanging around
 until the real renters show up?) have to find a new place to live.
Some of their things can be seen amidst the rubble

Angst & Awe

the reason I am not a political blogger (aside from the fact that I need things reduced to their simplest terms for adequate comprehension) is the fact that I am very bad at citing remarks. I can never seem to remember where I heard something, only that I did. My reading goal this year was to improve my memory of author names. I am improving in that area and suppose it is time to generalize and pay more attention to when and where I’ve read something of interest.

Of course, this is leading up to a statement, quoted from some other article, from some other place, written at some other time. I came across this fact during a late night scouring session. The internet seems to work best then and I end up sitting awake, searching the web, trying to make contact with the outside world. (UNperpetuation- there is t.v. available here, cable too, even animalplanet. It is an exorbitant sum to get started, however, and I am fairly happy without it.)

Generally I catch up on news from the U.S, followed by news about Congo and then stream music while I write emails or browse for pleasure. It was one evening, while trying to stay informed about the news of the east, that I came across a description of the intake process of refugees into camps. I thought of FEMA and its incredible (insert your own adjective here) handling of the disasters in Louisiana and Texas.

Typical of Africa, what I read left me with a double feeling of angst and awe. Upon arrival, refugees are given a handful of sticks and directed to an area where they then construct their own homestead. We have a sample of such housing on our elementary playground. It was built by a second grade teacher and her class last year. The walls are falling apart and need some upkeep. It is a reminder of how many Congolese women and children are spending their days- repairing a shelter.



I must be impressed that with such few resources they are able to create something that provides (meager) protection against the elements. It is doubtful that the residents of New Orleans would have been pacified with a handful of branches, even if they were carefully chosen for their strength and sturdiness.

On the heels of my amazement, comes an overwhelming angst that so many people continue to live in mud packed houses without adequate washing or toilet facilities, even as I walk unhindered across my green oasis blossoming with electricity, running water and indoor plumbing.

But I am in awe of their ability to construct and create. It seems we in the west have lost the basic ability to build for ourselves. For most of us, we wait while another prepares the place in which we might begin to carry out the business of living.

It seems without dispute that the only solution to the global issues plaguing most of the world requires a merging of ideas and technology- that which we have learned and that which we have overlooked.