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Post by limpopomark on Oct 29, 2013 13:35:38 GMT
Finally, after his friends ripped up our water pipes twice in a day, I get to take a picture of one of our big grey insulation-makers in the same shot as the oven. We very much appreciate that fence some days. Cheers all! mark Attachments:
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Post by cannyfradock on Oct 29, 2013 19:27:25 GMT
Mark
...always love your pictures.....and your comments!! It's always difficult for us Western Europeans to envisage just how difficult it has been for you to complete your project, but through your posts we have a good idea of what your challenges were.
Clay/Cob ovens are very prone to cracking and I presume that a Limpopo clay oven will also act in a similar fashion. But.....unless they fall down, they all seem to work very well regardless of any cracking.
Terry
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Post by Gaelceltic on Nov 3, 2013 5:04:39 GMT
What a fantastic photo Mark, great that you managed to capture one of your helpers. Can see well why you value that fence!
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Post by limpopomark on Dec 28, 2013 14:39:00 GMT
This one's for Umhloti... Hi folks - just a quickie to wish you all the best for 2014, and to say thank you once again for your help at the start of the year - without you all it would have never been built, so THANK YOU! Anyway, here's some wildebeest outside the fence on Christmas day. See you next year mark
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Post by rivergirl on Dec 29, 2013 20:22:43 GMT
Another amazing photograph!! Hope that you (And everybody else had a good christmas)
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Post by limpopomark on Apr 26, 2014 16:33:37 GMT
Death of a WFO... So a month ago I started a new job (which for potty mouth me is kind of fancy - in a 4 star lodge!) on a different reserve a few kilometres away from the old place. It was pretty sad leaving Old Claymore behind. Even worse, I heard that my idiot former boss plans to cover it in a concrete shell. So tonight I raise a glass to those enlightened folks among us that understand the innate beauty of a 'living', breathing WFO, made from the earth beneath our feet. 150 or so pizzas and still standing... for now If I build another one over here, you'll all be the first to know. Here's to all of you - good luck with whatever you're building and whatever your eating Stay frosty, mark in limpopo
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Post by cannyfradock on Apr 26, 2014 19:35:38 GMT
Hey Mark
I really enjoyed following your build thread and was truly impressed with your ingenuity in finding "clean" clay/cob for your build. Not sure on your comment of your boss covering the clay oven oven with concrete....is he trying to improve it or destroy it?.....such a shame as is looked perfect to me.....Clay ovens may crack and go a bit "wonky" but they can always be repaired and always seem to function.
I always wondered how you managed to cope in a remote community, especially as I have been asked by a charity/trust here in Wales to travel to Uganda....a place called Torroro, to build a few clay ovens and to teach the local Artisan from the village how to build these ovens so he can perhaps build ovens for other villages in that area. It's still in the planning stage but I'm up for the challenge.
....I'm sure you won't stop at building "1" oven, Mark.....or the Mark 1 oven!! I truly hope that wherever your work carries you, you can build a few of these clay beasts....and spread the good work of Clay oven building.
Best regards....
Terry
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Post by limpopomark on May 12, 2014 11:24:44 GMT
Hi Terry - he's trying to stop having to cover it whenever it rains or whenever he puts the sprinklers on (i'd spent much of the day making it nice and smooth once and used different coloured clay from the property to put a rather nice set of elephants on it, walking in a circle around the base of the oven, at which put he put the sprinklers on and essentially destroyed the lot, and made a hell of a mess of the oven too. A-hole. Anyone wishing to remind him of his innate stupidity can mail him on dave@gwcvolunteers.com The Uganda gig sounds amazing and challenging! I'd love to come and join in but I am kind of busy adjusting to sitting in an office while cool stuff happens elsewhere. It's a cruel and unusual punishment so I am jealous of your trip into the interior - where are you in terms of planning this jaunt, Terry? I've suggested to my other half at a reserve south of here (Pidwa, near Hoedpsruit if anyone is interested)that they ought to build one at their house. The owner is loaded (he build and owns something like 50 shopping malls) so I would be interested to see if he'd weigh in and invest in purchased rather than scavenged materials and make something spectacular. Could be amazing - there's lots going on down there and a fairly interesting social life (parties every weekend... quite unlike up here!) so it would be well used I am sure. For now I genuinely lack time in the day to build one here, and even if I didn't, living alone makes it less easy to motivate myself... one day, perhaps! Also, there are no elephants on this piece of land so I would have to dispense with the elephant poo layer! Cheers folks (and if you do mail him, let me know if you get a reply!) mark
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