Bus Stop Build
Drying the Bamboo
The drying process of the bamboo is somewhat of a quick system in regards to working with other less sustainable materials. The bamboo is strung up on a rack, in direct sunlight to dry as fast as possible to be then sent back to the building site to be used for construction.
Construction
Here you can see some of my colleagues (Liliana and Sixto), sitting high on top of the skeleton of the bus stop, working with drills to make holes for the metal nuts and bolts used to hold the structure in place. Traditionally the nuts and bolts are replaced by bamboo steaks that are made from the poles along with basic wood glue, but because we wanted this project to last for a long time we decided to go with the longer-lasting materials.
Harvesting the Bamboo
This process of harvesting the bamboo was extremely exciting but also took up most of the day and lots of strength, to carry all 20 poles of bamboo or its real name "Guadua" to the top of the farm to prep for transportation to the building site of the final project the bus stop. The locals typically carry one or sometimes two full-size bamboo poles individually, whereas here we were split into teams of two to carry one. Because the bamboo was still alive when it was cut, the pole is still filled with water which is what made it so difficult to carry.
Cutting / Measuring
Here RFI is cutting the bamboo poles to specific lengths needed for construction. There are two types of "mouths" that the ends of the poles are cut. And each cut has to be a specific distance from each node (joints) of the bamboo pole so that the pole will withstand weight for a longer period of time. The two mouths that were utilized were, the fish mouth and the fluted mouth. This is done with a hack saw, chisel and hammer. When the cutting has finished the nodes of the poles are brushed with a wire brush to take away any unwanted dirt or plant life.
