Week #34 — massive progress
This is the kind of week where if you turn your head one way, and then back, someone has done something to your building and so hurry and check it out. Our kitchen, dining, and living room now have wall…
One minute of workers working
These 19 seconds shows about a typical minute of work. The clip is running at 4X normal speed. While everyone in this clip is actively working, I should mention that due to the heat the workers do take several breaks…
Week #33 — 50 workers
We are ramping up to get the finishes done. We have workers encamped from three villages, an electrical & plumbing crew, and a team making custom windows and doors. You can imagine that labor must be cheap and you’d be…
Interior spaces: finally something to show
Above: our mural artist Maria, whom we met in Bali a year ago, came back from St. Petersburg, Russia especially to create murals on our walls. We first started working on the interior in bits and pieces, in different rooms,…
Week #32 – Tile floors & the kitchen sink
We have reached a point where the latest work on the project is bringing a sense of aesthetic and completeness. While not a single room is actually finished, there are pieces of the puzzle that are coming together. My builder…
The male/female divide
The construction industry is notorious for it’s dominance as a “male” industry. In the USA it would be rare to have a female roofer, plumber or an electrician bid for a job. But in Bali one interesting area where females…
Week #31 — Kitchen counters and floor tile
The challenge we have now is to finish the residential side of the building so that we can move in by the end of February. It’s great to see painted walls, floor tile and kitchen counters going in.
Week #30 — staircases to heaven & a warung
Construction sometimes seems like a never-ending process. And here in Indonesia you never quite know which workers will show up on any given day. In essence it’s a bit of a mystery to figure out the logical progression of day-to-day…
Pererenan Beach to Echo Beach – bridge completed
An exciting development for those that live or visit Echo Beach or Pererenan Beach: now you can conveniently walk over a bridge whereas previously you needed to wade across a stream.
Week #29 — a lull in the action
The Balinese construction crew went back to their village for a major celebration called Galungan. The crew from Java continued to add brick walls and cover them with cement plaster. Slowly the building is looking more and more hospitable, but…
Ancestors from the beginning of time
The Balinese go to great efforts to treat their ancestors with utmost respect, as they believe that their spirits, in a very real sense, come back to their homes and the home temples that are a part of each piece…
Week #28 – Bali workers take a break
The Balinese crew went back to their two villages to celebrate Galungan: The spirits of deceased relatives who have died and been cremated return to visit their former homes, and the current inhabitants have a responsibility to be hospitable through…