GCIUS - Speeding Up

Since our arrival in Ghana, this week has been the most productive in terms of construction. Many events have taken place and several cultural findings have been made.

First, we visited the construction site of a six-story hotel using hydraformed blocks. This was an opportunity for us to discover the great potential of this innovative construction method gaining in popularity among building designers. Of course, the Tibzaa site is much smaller, but the concept remains the same, which made the visit highly relevant. For example, good practices regarding implementation are now specified. Moreover, we have already considered revisiting the site in the presence of Nathalie Roy, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Sherbrooke, to gather her advices and to allow us to clarify certain aspects.

Subsequently, we had the chance to work alongside 21 future construction engineers and 2 professors from the Tamale Technical University. We were quickly struck by their willingness to get involved because everyone wanted to be assigned to a task. Several teams were formed to move equipment and to allow the implementation of the various axes of the building. The experience was positive for all and we will be able to work with them on many other occasions. They will surely be back soon.

The foundation digging was undertaken by five young men from the neighboring community. Filled with goodwill, François, Julina, Lydia and Anne-Florence tried to get their hands dirty, but they quickly realized that they were not able to cope with this demanding job.

Friday, the digging has been completed despite the impressive amount of rain that continues to surprise us every time it occurs (that is, when we least expect it). Fortunately, a motorized water pump was available to make life easier for workers who were able to complete the excavation work despite the flooded trenches.

The week finally ended on Saturday with the preparation for foundation concreting and block casting. All materials (sand, gravel and cement) are now close to the site and we have in our possession 2 machines to produce the hydraformed blocks.

Hopefully, the pace at which the milestones are being achieved will continue to increase over the next few weeks and we will do everything possible to mitigate the unexpected.

– Jordan Laroche