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| This is a rendition of Hans‘ new construction project (The pool is not illustrated in this rendition.) |
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| As we entered the multi-unit building under construction, we were amazed by all of the handmade ladders, made from materials on the site. |
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| Still, on the main floor, we walked from room to room, envisioning the future appeal. |
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| We couldn’t stop smiling over this creative means of supporting the ceilings. |
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| The expected completion of the first of 4 buildings on this particular site is by the end of 2013. |
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| Seemingly fearless workers worked atop the highest levels of the building utilizing their handmade ladders. |
There are a few historic buildings to sustain its tourism business.No ruins to attract visitors from afar. Buildings are made of locally handmade materials, indigenous to the parched soil; the coral, the stone, and the wood of myriad trees.
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| As we exited the car we were amazed by the piles of products to be used in the construction with little waste. Hans built this neighboring house. |
Hans, originally from Germany, our landlord, neighbor, and now new friend, discovered Kenya in 1978, finding its richness and culture a lure he couldn’t resist. With a passion for construction and a desire to be a part of the development of his favored Diani Beach, Hans has provided much-needed jobs for the locals, making his roots firmly entrenched in the coral soil.
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| This is the area where the pool is being constructed. Rather than “pour” a pool as familiar to us, every inch of the interior and exterior are hand-engineered, one stone at a time. |
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| These coral rocks for both the pool and the buildings are hand-dug on the premises. |
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| The tall pile of pale blue stone is used to give the walls of the pool a blue color. |
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| Coral and mortar, placed by hand, to build a swimming pool. |
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| View of the future pool from the penthouse level. |
Moving to Diana Beach permanently over two years ago, he and his lovely wife Jeri, from Nairobi, Kenya, have made Diani Beach their home as well as offering thoughtfully maintained vacation rentals along with the construction of future properties for sale.
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| These solid cement blocks are made on site in one of the future bedrooms! |
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| This woman is working with the cement blocks. |
Yesterday morning, Hans drove us to see one of his construction sites where no less than 50 local workers were deeply engrossed in completing this phase of the building project by the end of 2013.
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| The water lines positioned within the walls of the units. |
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| More branches, used as supports. |
For us to see to the workers laboring in the hot morning sun, smiles on their faces, quick to offer an enthusiastic “jambo” greeting as we toured the huge project, our hearts skipped a beat.
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This is the stairway we took, albeit carefully, to the 3rd level to see the penthouse, also still under construction. We’ll be long gone by the time this project is completed, but Hans agreed to send us photos.
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This was life in Kenya surrounding us: the Maasai in their colorful robes; the young. athletic muscular men wearing long pants, no shirts, sweat glistening on their ebony skin; the women, many mothers working to feed their families, wearing handcrafted tool belts while lifting heavy materials; and the older men, a lifetime of hard work etched into their deeply lined faces accentuated with a wide smile, the brightness of perfect white teeth a contrast against the rich dark skin.
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| Another view of the neighboring property from the penthouse level. |
Walking over uneven ground through coral, stone, and rock, we followed Hans as we worked our way through the partially completed first of four large buildings to be built, each containing four large units, plus an elaborate penthouse. Once the four buildings are sold, Hans will begin building a comparable complex on an adjacent parcel of land, keeping these 50 workers and more in jobs for years to come.
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| “Jambo” yelled the workers as they smiled and waved to us. |
Gingerly climbing up railing free cement stairways we worked our way throughout the entire structure, in awe of how different the construction was from that in the US.
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| An archway being built on the penthouse level. Here again, tree branches are used, in this case holding up the wooden mold in order to build the archway. |
Literally, every major material used (except plumbing pipes and electrical lines), was made on-site by the hands of the workers: coral for the walls, hand-dug from the property’s grounds; the ladders, constructed with wood from fallen trees during the preparation of the land; the rebar made by hand as we watched up close; the solid cement blocks made in one of the future bedrooms, as we watched.
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| Creative, economical use of land surrounding the building site to grow plants for future use. How amazing is this! |
A gardener tended a garden growing the future trees, plants, and shrubs, left our mouths agape in pure wonder over the sensible use of that which the environment so freely provides in abundance in Kenya. We couldn’t believe our eyes.
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| The beginnings of the garden that will supply the property’s landscaping. |
The sun beating on us as we walked the massive uneven grounds, sweat pouring from us with nary a complaint, slightly overdressed in discrete clothing in respect for the Muslim way of life, prominent in Kenya, we didn’t want our exploration to end.
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| The gardener was proud of his work. |
Finally, we made our way back to the car to sip on our water-filled mugs to wait for Hans as he spoke to his foreman and workers. By noon, we were back on the road for the 12 minutes fast drive back to stop and pick up Jeri from her teaching job, heading back to our respective homes.
After stopping to pick up Jeri at the well guarded private home, she suggested lunch at a local Kenyan restaurant on the side on the road, where there was a row of tiny open-air thatched structures, where locals stopped to dine, day and night.
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| The hut where locals dine on delicious food made without chemicals, with all ingredients locally grown. Photos of foods follow below. |
We giggled as we described it as Kenya’s “fast food” restaurants; low priced, fast, and delicious, the difference being healthfully made local foods, as opposed to the processed fast-food restaurants that we’re used to seeing in the US and around the world, none of which we’ve seen so far in Kenya.
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| When we returned from our outing, we walked over to Hans” and Jeri’s home to take photos of the local food they purchased for lunch at a total cost of Kenya Schillings $150, US $1.77. Yep, $1.77! When was the last time any of us purchased a meal for 2 for under $1.00 each? |
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| Ugali, a cornmeal staple is commonly enjoyed as a side dish is made entirely with flour and water, boiled to perfection. Apparently, the flavor is fabulous. None for either of us. In my old days, I sure would have gobbled this up, maybe adding butter and syrup. |
Hans and Jeri suggested we try the food. Most certainly, I would have had many of the items had they not been prepared with flour and starches. Tom, on the other hand, would hardly have enjoyed the seasoned, vegetable-laden items. Too bad. What a fine experience that would have been! However, we took photos of the food to share with our readers. Notice the total cost of the 2 meals under the photo.
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| Kenya stew may consist of beef, chicken or goat. |
For more information about the foods of Kenya, click here. Tomorrow, in Part 2, we’ll share more details about the buildings, the hand made the making of rebar, the units for sale, drawings, plans, pricing of the units, and more photos.
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| This is a chapatti, a flatbread comparable to a tortilla. This was especially hard to resist, soft, warm, and flexible, easy to fill with whatever one likes. |
Over the upcoming weekend, we’ll be dining out twice, sharing those details and photos. Our story of Kenya continues on…