As 2020 draws to a close it’s time to update all of our Iringa Hope supporters on the progress of the Market Center we are constructing in Iringa.
Iringa Hope is building a 20,000+ sq, ft, Market Center in Iringa, located on a 20-acre site near the University of Iringa campus, along the new truck bypass route. When completed the Center will provide storage for bulk sales of crops, gathering space for large training sessions, a trading operation, soil and crop testing, and area for future expansion. The Center will support our DSS crop storage and marketing program which has been shown to improve the prices our members receive by 25-50%!
Thus far, Iringa Hope has acquired the land (donated by the Diocese of Iringa), cleared and prepared the site, and made over 10,000 bricks! With no ready source of premade bricks in the Iringa area the bricks for the project are being made on site.
Also in short supply in the Iringa area is sand and gravel. This is something most of us take for granted as being easily available, however in this area the sand that is found is too crumbly to make cement and the gravel is too large for mixing. As a result, we need to truck in both sand and gravel from the Morogoro area, roughly a day’s round trip.
With no sand and gravel in the area there are also no concrete plants so all concrete for the building is hand mixed and carried in buckets.
Currently work involves laying the bricks for the surrounding walls, and forming and raising the supporting columns for the roof.
The floor is different than most of us are used to. Since sand and gravel must be hauled in, the floor is underlaid with a layer of rocks to minimize the amount of concrete needed. Even with this reduction in concrete the project will require over 3.000 bags of cement and many, many truckloads of sand and gravel.
It looks like we are on track to open the Center in time for next year’s harvest. However, with months of work yet to go, and the pandemic still in progress, we are wary of making promises!
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A few of the 10,000 bricks that are being made on-site! -
6 foot brick fence with barbed wire on top. -
The fence encloses 9 acres, allowing for future expansion -
Most of the beams have been poured and raised -
The floor is underlaid with a layer of rocks to reduce the amount of concrete needed
From Iringa our Director, Enock Ugulumu, and our MFI Manager, Itiweni Luhwago, they wish to send you their greetings for the Christmas season,
“Tukuvahungila hilo kuhuma ing’i ya Kutanzania Lilungulu lya Kwiringa mumigo idza Iringa Hope. Mbemuli mfunyilagwe nu ikimung’i icha ukwegalwa kwa Mutwa vetu Yesu Kristi , na Ulufunyo ulwa umwaka umupya. Avafunyilage Nguluvi dadetu mnyalusungu na wende.. Nguluvi yivatangage na tukuvasukila hilo.”
(In case you do not speak HeHe they said, “Greetings from Iringa Hope, Tanzania. We wish you all a blessed Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. May the Lord God bless you all on the day of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. May our merciful God bless you always. Our prayers are with you always.”)