Nepal Spice Build

So I made it back from Nepal and it was definately the most amazing experience! Thanks to everyone who supported me and helped me get to Nepal, I couldn't have made it otherwise. The good news is that we nearly finished 5 houses which is 2 more than we were originally going over to build. The 5th house still had a bit of work left to do, but Habitat for Humanity in Nepal had engaged contractors to finish this off after we left. So a pretty awesome result :) The houses were made out of bamboo framing with bamboo slats to make up each wall. There was then a mixture of mud and straw (which we mixed in mud pits with our feet) which was applied to the bamboo walls. So there were 3 layers of this mud/straw combination and then a 4th layer of mud and cow dung. This was a sealant layer and pretty stinky!! Good times. The last layer was paint, which included the windows (also bamboo slats). There were 2 rooms to each house with the internal walls having the same mud process without the final layer of paint. The floors consisted of sand compacted down and then a thin layer of straw with another layer of mud on top to seal it down. We were split into 5 teams (you can see a photo of my team on here) and worked on the same house for the week. The family who we were building for also worked on the house, which was great to get to know them too. The 5 days of building was pretty full-on but the days went so fast that the week was over before we knew it. There was a lot of hard work, laughing and singing. A really amazing week. It was quite sad leaving the village at the end of the week, as we had all made great connections with other women on our teams and in the village. Nepal is a beautiful country, with such beautiful giving people. The poverty there is heartbreaking and I had a few tears at times but all part of it. I would definately do it again, no hesitation. If you would like to ask me about my trip in greater detail please email me directly. I'm more than happy to bore you with the details!! Thanks again for your support :) Robyn