To start building the water filter mould, I went on a scouting trip to Effiduasi, the nearest town. There I asked construction material shop-keepers for a welder, and luckily enough found a workshop nearby. Through the two weeks it took to transform metal plates into a steel mould, an assistant welder named Sadat was my companion. The positive impression I had from him started when he punctually met me at 5am to buy materials, and followed through his ownership presence on the project. His attention to detail applied not only to his own workmanship, but to that of his colleagues as well. More than once I saw Sadat urging another worker to stop welding, in order to re-align the plates that had been moved a few millimeters. Sadat's mostly silent presence was untrue to his friendliness, which extended to voluntarily calling to check if my transport had been late, and coming along the final twenty-minute drive from Effiduasi to Oguaa to bring the mould home.
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| Sadat |
The first challenge of the project came before any welding had even started: buying materials. Because the metal plates were not available in the required thickness in Effiduasi, Sadat and I scheduled a trip to Kumasi. After a few hours of commuting and combing alleys of metal junkyards, we found two of the three plates for sale at a warehouse. The third one, and the thickest, was only available for eight times the size the mould required, at 280ghc. An estimation of price George, the head welder, had given me proved to not be very accurate - there were 30ghc left.
Bargaining, persistance and luck.
It was noon and the sun reflected almost blingingly on the metal waiting in front of the scrap shops. After over three sweaty hours of questioning and searching through piles of scrap metal, Sadat dug out a piece large and thick as needed. This was the third one so far, but the others had been too rusty to even consider using as a means to purifying water. Refreshingly, this one had been painted and the coating had resisted through time enough that one side was not rusted. The price was brought down to 18ghc, leaving us daringly far from an easy price on transportation back to Effiduasi.
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| The last plate was found under these piles. |
By chance, the security guard at the first warehouse and I had talked for about ten minutes while I was waiting for the manager. When Sadat and I met him on our way to collect the plates, upon learning of our situation he called a friend of his, who after some convincing agreed to take us for the money we had left.
Every day after teaching I would drive in a "shared taxi" to Effiduasi to help (mostly watch) the progress on the mould. When I got into the car, I was usually tired enough that I would fall asleep to the wind through the jammed open windoms. Admittedly, getting to the workshop took effort. But as soon as I touched a plate or heard the prickling sound of metal being melted in welding, the feeling turned into an eagerness for creation. To witness the plates be taken from awaiting in Kumasi to a tower ready to be put to use brought a different kind of satisfaction - executing a process of concrete creation.
There were challenges unacounted for in planning. Having to cut precise measurements by chisel and hammer, and the plates not being as straight and flat as called for on the plans were two major issues we had to contour. Improvizing a little, with close supervision and strict standards, we finished the mould.
Over the next few weeks I'll keep writing about the project: how building the actual filters goes and their implementation.
All the best!
Henrique
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