| Mud brick making is reminiscent of younger days playing in the sandbox making mudpies. Here it is a viable building product and a good brick maker is in demand. The sandy clay is riddled with mineral deposits which are not obvious until compressed into brick. The grass and refuse is scraped away from a circular area on the ground and a small depression is dug. The loose clay is placed in the depression or pulled from the sides. Water is added and the clay is mixed with a jembe and by dancing barefoot in the mud. It is soothing to the feet but much harder work than it looks. Once the clay is thoroughly mixed, not watery, but very pliable, it is removed with the jembe and placed in a brick form. |
The mud is compressed and smoothed into the brick form with hands and feet. After a few minutes of setting the form is removed and used for the next brick. The bricks are set in rows and allowed to bake in the warm African sun. After a day or two, they will be turned on end to expose a new surface. If rain threatens, they are covered. Depending upon the building schedule the bricks will dry for one or two weeks. They can remain in this form for months if kept dry. |
| Mud Brick masory is performed in the same way as brick or stone. A foundation is dug and mud mortar is made. It is laid with a trowel and the mud bricks chipped and formed to fit. As the structure dries the mortar lines are as strong as the brick itself. The mineral content begins to show as streaks of silver within the mud. |
The walls rise. When the designated height is obtained, timber trusses are added and a corrugated steel roof. The finishing touch of a cement coat inside and out can be added but the mud brick structure left as is and protected from the rains can stand for twenty years or more. The garage/storage shed at the Joesph Waweru Home School has not yet been cemented but it is hoped to plaster and add doors to ensure the security of the stored building supplies, to increase the longevity and blend the building in with the remainder of the structures. |
