The three earthbag buildings that we built last febuary were not yet occupied when I arrived, as school has just started. There is some leeway in the start of the new school year for nomadic schools. When the rains are good and they have to extend their migration time to maximize herd survival through the coming dry season they are permitted to start in November instead of the usual Oct. 1. This year was the worst/best rainy season in decades. This is great for nomads and pasture, but terrible for adobe buildings. Lots of rain and very heavy storms far surpassed the normal year. As a result the newly plastered buildings lost some of the final coat and some of the sacs were exposed, but one of the masons who helped build them, Ibrahim (he has four kids at the school) is going to put a new layer of plaster/mud on them before I go back out for the festival. This is actually a very good thing because, nomads, not used to maintaining structures, need to understand the necessity of this if the want their structures to last. The parents, who agreed to put the matts on the roofs of the porch hangars will also have that done in time for the festival so we can put our best foot forward. Here they are..better detail to follow in a few days.
Teacher’s residence left, girls dorm, boys dorm and school.
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