Ferrocement Tank and Rainwater Harvesting Training!

Hey there! I just blew in from Pamplona and BOY is that rain harvestable!

Last week, I went to the next province north of me and had a grand old time building thin-walled concrete tanks with a bunch of other water and sanitation volunteers.

Ian, Lee, Alan, MAriah, MOria, honorary Wat/San Tom, myself, and all of our various Filipino counterparts, under the direction of the fearless Kiwi mixed and poured concrete in the almost-pouring rain. Fun times!



A ferrocement tank is basically a cheap way of making a large-volume concrete water reservoir. The tank is used, in this case, to catch rainwater so that the people near this school don't have to walk a half-kilometer to take a drink.

It is round because circles have all kinds of NEATO physical properties. It is made of concrete because, let's face it, concrete is about as awesome as a bucket full of ninjas. It reinforced only with tie wire because engineers like to show off how cool they can be by using minimal materials and still having a casual conversation on a 3" thick roof:



"But Paaage, I know all that and I want to be able to make one myseeeeelf."

"Slow down there, little lady, and let me walk you through the process."

First:
a) find or make a tank-shaped mold made of rebar
b) divide the mold into sections
c) wrap each piece in rice sacks
d) re-assemble into something resembling a giant beehive
e) fill mold with tallest volunteer in Philippines for the amusement of the Filipinos "Oh! He is very tall!"


a) find or make a tank-shaped mold made of rebar


b) divide the mold into sections


c) wrap each piece in rice sacks


d) re-assemble into something resembling a giant beehive


e) "Oh! He is very tall!"

Next comes the concrete:
a) Stand around while other people mix concrete
b) Pour a circular base with tie wire embedded
c) Watch with glee as your boss mixes concrete
d) Plaster the outside of your beehive (making sure to remove honey first)


a) Stand around while other people mix concrete


b) Pour a circular base with tie wire embedded


c) Watch with glee as your boss mixes concrete


d) Plaster the outside of your beehive (making sure to remove honey first)

And then you build some more:
e) Cover concrete with vertical tie wire
f) Place concrete like you mean it
g) Wrap horizontal tie wire (looks kinda like a giant bug-zapper)
h) One more layer of concrete!
i) Remove form from inside (I hope it's not too big...)



e) Cover concrete with vertical tie wire


f) Place concrete like you mean it


g) Wrap horizontal tie wire (looks kinda like a giant bug-zapper)


h) One more layer of concrete!


i) Remove form from inside (I hope it's not too big...)

And then you do a victory dance:

a) Get a pic with the army detachment sent to guard against any kind of full-frontal assault on your training.
b) Place small female volunteer inside concrete shell
c) Take a picture with counterpart for posterity
d) Take a CU/CSU rivalry pic for the heck of it
e) Go get loaded and celebrate


a) The guy next to me was known only as 'Nades


b) Place small female volunteer inside concrete shell


c) Take a picture with counterpart for posterity


d) Take a CU/CSU rivalry pic for the heck of it

e) FUN CENSORED BY THE FORCES OF CULTURAL SENSITIVITY

Ingat kamo!