Tools of the Trade or We need a Machete!

Dave taking care of the final mounting screws

When we arrived at Robin's Nest we were hoping there would be a few projects in our skill set to call our own and complete during the week.  

Before getting started on their projects the guys found a number of handy tools: an axe with a broken handle, a saw with a rusty blade, pruning saw with a broken blade, and a shovel head with no handle.  In Jamaica a machete is the premier tool for all of your tree cutting, pruning, and edging needs so they were set with the clothesline chore. The clothesline in this photo is one of MANY around the perimeter of the house.  With thirty children, there is always someone hanging clothes on or taking clothes off of the many lines.

Guess why Dave got to do this job?

The swimming pool has a light which was no longer working, so our electric crew got to work running a new line.  Imagine Dave's joy to find that PVC is a premier construction tool in Jamaica.  It is used as the conduit for electrical lines because it does not rust or breakdown over time. There was much celebration when at the end of the week - there was light!

Nick is standing near the spot where Dave was working in the previous photo.

Matt, and Joyelle  are the administrators of Robin's Nest. They have an apartment on the lower level of Jake's House, part of the Robin's Nest facility.  The clothesline will provide a much less work-intensive laundry day as Joyelle will be able to step out of her door instead of climbing the hill with her family laundry. Our work crew was happy to supply the labor to make it so.
The clothesline for Joyelle involved cutting down a tree.  This chore called for serious tools, but alas, all they had was a machete.  In the end a gentleman named Cracker cut the tree down as the guys watched in awe.  

In order to complete these projects the guys needed to stock up at the local hardware store.  By the end of our stay ALL of the salespeople knew this group of guys and will be receiving a Christmas card this year!  I am not kidding when I say we sat in the hardware store lot about 45 minutes one day and much less subsequent days.  Any time we all climbed into the van the first comment was, "after the hardware store, where are we going?"

Sharpening the Machete to chop down the tree and install the jungle clothesline.

 Hot, tired and sweaty, but still smiling!

Note the stump - Machetes rule.