Just a quick update regarding the incredibly heavy monsoons now afflicting Nepal, and their impacts to construction:

From today work has been stopped on the school. It has been raining very heavily. Within 24 hours 36 people and hundred of domesticated animals were killed in the floods and landslide in different parts of the country. The Department of Weather forecast has warned people to remain alert for another 3 days.
This could be the start of a long delay due to the monsoons. Fortunately our Nepali project manager, Parshu, has made the correct decision to stop work until it is safe.
We will keep you updated on the progress, and hopefully for our friends in Nepal these dangerous weather conditions will soon be over.

Construction is continuing well, with the concrete footings which form the foundation of the walls completed progress is looking good! Here are a couple of photos of Parshu and some of the construction team.

Parshu is meeting very regularly with the builders on site to ensure consistent, high quality work.

We still have to raise almost $20,000 to finish the first school and we need your help. Every little bit helps us get this village back their school. You can donate in a variety of ways including email money transfer (in Canada) to info@anotherbrickinnepal.com, send a cheque directly to us at 121-937 Dunford Ave, Victoria BC V9B 2S4, or go to our GoFundMe page and pledge money there. Thank you for your support!

Construction is getting underway in Apchaur! We have transported almost all of the materials, except for the bricks which will be arriving today. The delay is because the government school has also begun their construction, which is causing some issues with storage and traffic.

We have encountered slight problem with water. We were not expecting the government school to be under construction until october, thats what we were told by school management, but for some reason they are mandated with completion within a month. This is causing some issues in terms of water required for construction. We are trying to manage water through rain water harvesting and have meeting with people from another village requesting for water.

Also, the school management has decided to change the location of construction. Now our school will be adjacent to the current school on the back side. So we are having to invest an extra 4 days to clear the stones and break the concrete that was already there.

Below are some update photos from the start of construction.

Last month some ABIN Board members returned to Nepal to meet with Nepali government officials, and our local design team (Creative Services). On this trip ABIN entered into a partnership agreement with the Society For Economic Development (SODEC), a Nepali non-profit. This was an important step as such partnerships are required in order work in Nepal. Rob, Parshu, and Dave spent many hours working with Creative Services. Our goal of finalizing the school design and submitting it to both the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) and Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU) for approvals was achieved. We will be constructing the walls using an interlocking style of concrete block. This system is a dry laid type of masonry that is reinforced with rebar and concrete grout. Important from a seismic perspective, cast-in-place concrete lintels poured above and below all window and door openings and at the top of walls. The lintels run completely around the whole structure at these intervals. When we visited the school site in fall 2016 it wasn’t possible to drive to the school; however, the people of Apchaur have since built a road, partially by hand, so that we can bring supplies up to the school site.

One of the buildings fell in the 2015 earthquake and has been replaced by a temporary structure built from corrugated steel and bamboo. The other building was heavily damaged and condemned. The people of Apchaur were trying to raise the 25,000 rupees ($350 CDN, approx. half a year salary in Nepal) needed to demolish the second building, which had to happen before we could begin construction. Raising money is difficult for farming communities as they mainly deal in barter trade, so this was going to take all the village’s saving and more. While at the village last month, ABIN made the decision to give the village this much-needed money. The villagers were very pleased, and got around 30 people over the following days to demolish the building. We are now ready to start building!

Nick Versteeg of DV Media joined the ABIN board in Nepal. Nick is working on a follow-up to his documentary on the 2015 earthquake. We will let you know when his newest documentary is complete. Please take a look at Nick’s website for information and a blog about his time in Nepal. All the stunning images in this post were provided by Nick.

Over the next few weeks we hope to be sharing with you news about supplies being brought in and the foundation commencing. This dream has become reality and we are grateful for everyone involved. We are still about $20,000 away from our goal to complete this school so please consider making a donation, you can even send an email money transfer to info@anotherbrickinnepal.com as this avoids the fees charged by GoFundMe.