Snows of Mount Kilmanjaro

On the way to Dar Es Salam (early Oct 08) the plane passed over Mount Kilmanjaro. Here's what's left of the snows...

To the right is a photo of the mountain in snowier times.

Blown cellulose

We're moving along in construction of our homes! Yesterday Chom and I spent the day blowing cellulose insulation into the attic spaces of three homes. 14" deep, R-49. The cellulose is made of recycled newspaper with boric acid added as a fire retardant. It's a 2-person operation. One is manning a 4" diameter hose, spraying the insluation. The other is downstairs, constantly feeding the blower/agitator with 25 pound bales of cellulose. I was upstairs crouching in the attic space doing the blowing. To keep the dust down, I would keep the hose submerged. Cellulose would bubble and spurt up like lava.

We were glad to be inside! The rest of the crew (20 or so at the site yesterday) were out in the pouring rain, doing emergency repairs. It's the first heavy rain, and there was some damage to some of the intermediate plaster layers on the strawbale walls. Others were dealing with erosion helping direct water that was puddling dangerously in the newly bulldozed grounds.

We've also just started shingling!!! Come one, come all if you want to pound some nails.