Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Building Walls


I'm up in the frame, the crew below is building a wall on a stage I helped build---"Wallzilla" because the ground is very steep here.

The Project

So why come all this way just to build a timber frame building? Well, to me it’s not just to build a building (I do plenty of that at home) It’s more for the opportunity to learn new skills and work with other people. The Timber frame knowledge base mostly grows through sharing. This building is for the Raleigh Vallen Nature preserve here in Suriname. The preserve is about the size of NJ and the goal of the building is to provide a nice destination for eco-tourists. In a sense, “if you build it, they will come” This lodge will provide rooms, a good kitchen service, common area and a place for administrative offices. It’s kind of funny in a way; walls aren’t really required, as it never gets below 70.
The timber frame was crafted by Bear Dance Joinery (good friends of mine) and Adrienne Walker. The 3 of them spent several months in the Paramaribo, the capitol, cutting all the joints and preparing the timbers for transport. Remember the canoe ride?
All the timbers came the same way. 100 tons of wood. Plus all the stuff you need to get it up. Tools, scaffolds, ladders, generators and all our personal gear was sent via the canoe. There were many trips over several months. When we leave, much lighter, we will fly out via small plane. For more photos, check out the www.tfguild.org where there are daily reports. Thanks for checking in.

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