Building a Hoiuse

Building a House

Mbise liked to have a few hundred shillings in his pocket, ‘to feel comfortable’, but he asked Henry to keep some of his wages back because he wanted to save money so he could build a house – sometime.

As the oldest son, he was entitled to ask his father for a piece of land – the prime reason that farms are no longer large enough for a sustainable income. The old boy was hesitant though because he knew that Mbise would bring ‘gifts’ until he was satisfied. A few shillings to buy piwa, the local brew was always a start.

Meantime there were two trees that were leaning towards Henry’s house, so for safety reasons he borrowed a chainsaw, made the necessary repairs to it and dropped the trees. Mbise was tickled pink because Henry allowed him to have the logs.

He dug a pit and found a few rails so he could saw the Silky Oak – Grevillea robusta – into timber. Henry stored the timber for him.

One day Mbise arrived with a cooked leg of goat wrapped in banana leaves. He had ‘the man at Nkomansa’ cook it for him in celebration of his father had promising him his plot of land. Mama Upendo came down with the kids and it so happened Henry had some beer for the adults and sodas for the kids.

Mbise was officially employed by the Makumira farm as a night guard, but Henry paid him, and he was one of Henry’s nursery workers. Henry relied on him because he could read and understand his written Kiswahili instructions for the day’s work.  His team followed the instructions and daily completed their tasks. Henry most usually was working in the field.

The pair often sat outside in the dark talking: Henry telling tales of New Zealand, of science and things that Mbise wanted explained; Mbise telling about the history of Makumira, the gossip, folk lore and other amazing things.

A warm and close relationship sprung up between Mbise and the Kiwi pair.

Mbise had a plan concerning Mama Riziki, another of the nursery workers. He kept it to himself, though Mags and Henry were not fooled. Suddenly he washed and oiled himself before he went home, and he wore clean clothes.

Henry and Mags had built a small house for Mama Upendo and her family and no doubt Mbise had hopes of some assistance now that he had the plot of land – he just did not know how to broach the subject.

He asked Henry for assistance to purchase some roofing iron using his savings, the inference being he needed it carted from Arusha to Makumira.

To know how much roofing iron was needed, and the length, Henry drew a plan for Mbise and they tweaked it until both were satisfied.

The cheapest merchants were the roadside peddlers and Henry knew they siphoned off a kilogramme or so out of each bag of cement, so he was not surprised when he could see daylight through the sheets! He told the merchant that unless he could supply proper thirty two gauge iron, he had better unload all that had already been stacked on the roof-rack. Of course they ended going to one of the reputable stores.

Henry told Mags that Mbise would not be able to afford the house they had designed, so they decided to help him.

Samson was a good builder and had become used to Henry’s standards with the pair enjoying bartering over every issue. But Henry did not want to take over the experience for Mbise so he was always included.

Rocks were need for the foundation and Henry knew where to source them and the transport. Mbise assisted Samson to dig the foundation and to place the rocks.

It was against Henry’s scruples to used burnt bricks – clay mining creates cavities and trees are cut to cook them – on the other hand young fellows are gainfully employed. Burnt bricks are the cheaper option by far, so Henry went along with their use. No sand or cement was needed for mortar – termite mound soil was ideal. The termites angrily rattled, but Henry mined and carted the material himself.

The only other major cost was concrete for the lintel above the windows, which ties in the walls. Henry had wire to fix the top plate to the wall and nails for building the rafters and fixing the iron were not costly.

Henry and Mags funded the doors and frames, also the window frames – no glass was required, just a strong mesh.

There was no sign of Mama Riziki at the house opening, and from somewhere, Mbise’s mother had sourced a cake!

Mbise was grateful and his parent proud.

Happily it was not long until Mama Riziki moved in.