Up, Up, Up! The concrete slabs have been poured floor by floor. The walls have gone up. A long retaining wall has been built. The building has risen over the past year to stand three stories tall, and it’s some of the finest construction we’ve seen in Nepal. This is not because it’s the most expensive–we’ve planned and purchased very carefully, used locally available materials where we can, and are even planning to use the timber harvested from the land for the building’s furnishings. The construction is well done because it’s a close collaboration of Western technical know-how and local on-the-ground skills and knowledge about what it takes to work in Nepal.
Our construction partner ABIN has been absolutely awesome every step of the way! It’s been impressive how closely they manage the construction communication and oversee the technical build from a steady stream of WhatsApp photos that come in from our on-the-ground team in Nepal. It’s because of this exceptional teamwork that we are confident in announcing that the Safe House is on-schedule to be completed in February 2025, and funding is nearly complete. Help us finish the safe house!
We have been blown away with the quality of the construction happening in Nepal, thanks to our partner ABIN and to the local team in Nepal. For example, a French drain together with a damp-proofing coating and membrane has been installed behind the large shear wall that runs the length of the building against the slope of the land. This is generally unheard of in Nepal, but a much-needed piece of technical engineering. With heavy monsoon rains for months at a time and embankments that trap moisture, it’s common that buildings in Nepal suffer from excess moisture, mildew, settling, cracking, and occasionally even mudslides. The French drain is a buried pipe to capture moisture and shunt it away so that the building and the land both dry out. This construction detail will help ensure the Safe House stays in good condition and lasts decades longer.
In other respects, modern technology cannot always be used in the mountains of Nepal. Our local crew has poured all of the concrete slabs by hand because heavy machinery isn’t available in the remote mountains. It’s an art to execute it effectively. Wheelbarrows are used to transport rock and sand. Concrete is mixed on the ground, shoveled into a mixer, and poured by hand. A lot of human labor is involved, and the slab pour days are long and hard. The whole process requires constant attention and extra workers. It’s high stress to make sure everything goes smoothly, as we can’t afford errors. Concrete is one of the biggest construction expenses and requires a continuous pour to maintain its strength.
CLN’s final push for the new building is to raise funds for furnishings so that the Safe House can be opened in March. Our Safe House has 10 bedrooms for women and their children, a large kitchen and dining area, and an isolation room for women presenting with possibly contagious health problems. We also have offices, a large meeting/training room, and a designated education and play area for children who arrive with their mothers.
The Safe House will be one of the largest, well built, and most modern facilities for women in all of rural Nepal. Help us finish the job of furnishing the building so that more women and children who are victims of domestic abuse, rape, or other violence will have shelter and safety by March of 2025!
