One of our fuel suppliers is expanding their storage. We drop by every week or two to check the progress. The last time we visited they were building quarters for the work crew that will be building the fuel tanks. They were building typical Afghan mud houses, the first I’ve seen during construction. I am guessing this is the same construction method used since the time of Abraham. They were building them against an existing wall to save effort. When we arrived they were nearly complete and were “plastering”.
On this wide valley between the Panjshir and Kabul wood is scarce as are large rocks and clay. The only readily available building material is dirt. This is not like the dirt I played in as a kid. The dirt here is as fins as talcum powder and when the mud from it dries it’s not unlike concrete. I’ve seen the kilns they
make bud bricks in near Kabul but I had no idea how the actual construction was done. One of the workmen mixed mud with straw into a soupy paste and then put it in a wheelbarrow. Other workers took handfuls of the mix and threw it at the wall of the building and spread it in place. Another man used a short board to smooth large sections of the wall. The roof consists of beams made of small trees (about 4 in dia.) and presumably matting and more mud. The roof mud is mixed with more straw than that on the walls. I didn’t have the opportunity to look inside.
It was fascinating to watch. The only difference between what I saw and what would have happened 2,000 or more years ago is the type of tools used. Now steel trowels and boards cut with saws are used. Other than that, why change a good system?
On this wide valley between the Panjshir and Kabul wood is scarce as are large rocks and clay. The only readily available building material is dirt. This is not like the dirt I played in as a kid. The dirt here is as fins as talcum powder and when the mud from it dries it’s not unlike concrete. I’ve seen the kilns they
make bud bricks in near Kabul but I had no idea how the actual construction was done. One of the workmen mixed mud with straw into a soupy paste and then put it in a wheelbarrow. Other workers took handfuls of the mix and threw it at the wall of the building and spread it in place. Another man used a short board to smooth large sections of the wall. The roof consists of beams made of small trees (about 4 in dia.) and presumably matting and more mud. The roof mud is mixed with more straw than that on the walls. I didn’t have the opportunity to look inside.
It was fascinating to watch. The only difference between what I saw and what would have happened 2,000 or more years ago is the type of tools used. Now steel trowels and boards cut with saws are used. Other than that, why change a good system?
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