|

Going against the flow

Did you know that flowing water is one of the most powerful forces on the planet? It shapes and reshapes landscapes, carves canyons and valleys. It can build fertile floodplains that support life or cause destructive flooding. So, guess what this letter is about?

Yes, you guessed it—water! Specifically, the small river that borders the northern side of our land. It has continued to encroach on and undermine our boundary wall. After a flash flood in October 2022, we could delay no longer. So, we traded our building tools for digging tools and got to work.

Ever heard of gabions? Maybe you haven’t, but you’ve most likely passed them without knowing. Gabions are civil engineering tools made of wire and filled with rocks. They have various uses, including erosion and flooding mitigation. After finding a supplier, negotiating a price, and organizing transport, we had gabions on site with over 400m³ of open space. Now, it was time to install them and fill that space with rock.

The northern boundary is approximately 200m long, but we didn’t want the gabions to be undermined like our boundary wall. So, we decided to install the first row below the riverbed with a second row on top to protect the property boundary. This meant moving more than 200m³ of river sand and rock with pick and shovel to install the subterranean row—no small feat. Once installed, 200m³ of rock needed to go into the empty cages. Over 400m³ of rock had to be sourced from the surrounding communities, purchased, and transported—yes, the riverbeds are owned by various communities. We have finally reached the riverbed surface level and we had enough rock for the project, but some watery interruptions (more rain) gave us another task.

After a good cleanup, we were back at it. Before installing the second tier of gabions, we had to turn our attention to the boundary wall. The recent watery interruption had moved our wall to the breaking point. So we jacked, dug, and concreted to get the wall back in place and keep it there. Then came tier two. Tier two was a little easier, relatively speaking—no digging but plenty of lifting. Once completed, we installed some buttress supports between the gabions and the repaired section of the wall for added stability. Boundary secured. Job done!

Similar Posts

  • The State of the Nation

    As a young nation, only 4 months away from turning 20, Timor-Leste has a lot of growing to do as a nation, along with its population of approximately 1.3 million people. The median age is only 20.8 years; both country and people are infants in the history of nations. The nation lacks skilled workers in…

  • |

    Shipping Containers x4

    Although the road needed fixing, meetings and discussions were held with the chefe-suco, who in turn talked to the relevant land owners… but after all that, four 20ft shipping containers were delivered to the site. The preparation for the foundations has also started and a gallery showing the delivery and the progress of the works…

  • | |

    Septic Tank

    Since the beginning of May 2022, we have been working tirelessly on the septic tank project. It has been quite the journey, considering the numerous challenges we faced and the fact that all the excavation work was done by hand. Surprisingly, the digging was completed in just about two weeks, which is quite impressive when…

  • |

    unShaken in Timor

    Yes… on 27.05.2022, around 11:30 am, there was another earthquake in Timor… but it was the first one here! I was in the house in Gleno… It was such a weird feeling, cause it lasted more than the one in Australia (my only other experienced comparison). At first, I thought I was dizzy cause it…

  • |

    New to the Team

    Welcome the Gugu Family: A Beautiful Symphony of Faith and Fun! It’s with the greatest joy and a dash of excitement that we welcome our new team members, the Gugu Family! Imagine the perfect blend of Romanian resilience and American warmth, topped with a sprinkle of heavenly harmony. That’s the Gugu Family in a nutshell!…