The Cement Mixer

A foundation is being laid. Into the scoop goes the gravel, sand, mix and water which gets picked up by a hydraulic scoop and thrown into the tumbler. The sand pile sits outside the compound with three people working that area, two young men to shovel sand into a wheelbarrow and one who hauls it around to the scoop attached to the mixer. The gravel pile sits right next to the mixer with two men filling a wheelbarrow and pouring it into the scoop. The bag of mix sits on the other side of the mixer and one guy cuts it open pours it in with the sand, another oversees the operation of the mixer and pours out the cement.

Poured into a wheelbarrow fleet the cement is taken to large holes, the size and depth of a grave. A tree trunk made of rebar extends out of the holes where two men wait for the next load of fresh cement. Like most daily operations in Gambia it’s a symphony of human movement. Each participant filling a vital link in a tremendously long series of events that will culminate in a new building right across from my window where I sit and type, right in front of me, right now. I don’t know when this new building will completely block my view of the road, like the one that just went up right outside the other window in this room, and despite the noise, I will enjoy watching as much of the process as I can. The loss of the view to the road will be tragic though. I have spent so much time sitting here watching the world outside my window. Soon much of that view will be completely blocked. I may have to move the table in the dining area where I can still see our junction.

More rebar just pulled up in a small pickup truck and is now sitting idle waiting to be unloaded. Two men are wrestling in the sand pile, laughing while they wait for their friend to come back with an empty receptacle, to be filled again. As I made some corrections in the paragraph above the rebar trunks were unloaded, the truck is gone and the load is being moved about the site, one per hole. The scoop just lifted a fresh recipe to be mixed. The wheelbarrow full of sand just spilled and must be refilled again. It’s done so with a smile and a laugh, all day long.

BBB