more lorena stove

Yesterday, saturday, we finally made some big progress in the Lorena stove. We just have one more step left!! Now that the base is finished and filled with dirt and stone, we were ready to actually start making the stove part. Here is how the procress went, more or less:


Cristian and Ramon mixed the red clay with sand and water, kind of like mixing cement

The mix was put on the base, inside of a wooden frame we'd built. It was added layer, by layer.

With each layer, we'd mix it with our fingers, and pound it with our fists, and then pat it with our palms. In this photo Mateo is helping. At one point we had about 4 kids crowded on one side helping us.

Then we'd put a piece of plastic over the clay, and pound it with a concrete block.

We got dirty, and today I feel like I've exfoliated my hands. Eugenio is the guy in the red shirt, who volunteered to teach us how to build the stove.

The finished product, for now. When it is dry, on Monday or Tuesday, we'll finish the stove by taking the wood off, digging out the tunnel where the firewood goes, and making the holes where the pots and chimney go.