THE "SAVE OUR SONIA" APPEAL



The right honorable Sonia.



Architects Drawing of "Villa Sonia".



Elevation of " Villa Sonia", showing terraces cut away from hillside for construction.



" Villa Sonia " floor plan.
From top,
....service area and shade tree, then steps down to....
....American style kitchen area, Pamela's bedroom,
living room, bathroom, Sonia's bedroom and terrace,
and then steps down past garden to road.

Design and drawings by Ulrich Kessler.
Drawing storage by Sonia's handbag.

THE "SAVE OUR SONIA" APPEAL

As you may have read in the previous post , I am raising money to help my mate Sonia build a house for herself and her daughter as they are imminently homeless.
I'm repeating the info here as a seperate lump, this time with pix of plans for house and my bank details, should you wish to donate.
There are pix on previous post of typical construction methods and of materials we will be purchasing.

"......she (Sonia) has just been informed by the new owner of the house of which she has been caretaker for several years that unless she starts paying rent, she's out on her ear.
The rent is unfortunately most of her income, for what is by UK standards two thirds of a small scruffy garden shed.So she and her daughter are in the shit, as we say over here.
I've offered to put them up here but obviously it's not ideal for them as there's lots of space but no rooms!
However Sonia recently accepted an offer of a small plot of land, enough for a simple abode, from the local council.
So people that know her, particularly us gringoes here and abroad, are chipping in with offers of materials or paying for local labour for the construction.

Which brings me to ummmm, well you know how everyone in the West wants to help people in the Third World?

Well, here's a chance to help directly......it's a bit like befriend an elephant or sponsor a lemur or adopt a dolphin.....Sonia will hit me if she reads this, particularly the elephant bit haha.......

No seriously, if anyone out there would like to buy Sonia a bag of cement, or some bricks or roof tiles, or a roof beam or two, or a tap or a sink or a bog, or some reinforcing rod, please get in touch with me at nasher53@gmail.com

Tell me what you'd like to offer, below is a list of materials needed and you can choose from that.....a bit like a wedding list only slightly chunkier, and not so nicely wrapped. or just specify a sum, and we'll buy accordingly as needed."

IN FACT I'VE ALREADY HAD A GOOD RESPONSE TO THE "SAVE OUR SONIA" APPEAL SO AM POSTING MATERIALS PRICES HERE AND NOW.....

STEEL REINFORCING FOR SUPPORT COLUMNS EACH £17.87
STEEL REINFORCING ROD 12 METRE LENGTH EACH £5.43
TIMBER FOR CLADDING SUPPORT COLUMNS METRE £1.23
NAILS FOR CLADDING KG £1.56
BRICKS 20X30CM EACH £0.10
CEMENT 50KG SACK EACH £3.76
EXTERIOR HARDWOOD DOOR EACH £51.89
HARDWOOD WINDOW EACH £46.70
ROOF TILES EACH £0.37

The basic construction method is to dig gurt deep oles in the ground, lay cement into the base to anchor a column of steel cage which is then temporarily clad in wood and cement poured in. The verticals are linked top and bottom by horizontal beams constructed the same way, and the gaps filled in with bricks. Windows and doors are obviously stuffed in as well. The roof structure is usually timber framed with tiles laid over. The floor is rough debris with cement laid over and tiles or stone laid over that. Plumbing and electrics neatly fit into the hollow bricks by smashing the shit out of them with a hammer and then plastering over. Water is drawn by electric pump from a well and waste goes into a cement lined pit.
For pix of typial construction and materials see previous post.
Also for brief Sonia biog.

Should you wish to donate some readies, please contact me at nasher53@gmail.com .

I'm sure the Sonia will want to thank the donators individually by email. I'm sure I'll end up having to do the translations as well
I'll keep updating with progress on the appeal and on the house build.
So far there are the rough plans, which is all that's needed to work from here, and the ground , which is a steep slope has been cleared of grass.
So far we've received cash or offers thereof from seven people.
Sonia whoops around the room every time we get a positive email, a sight worth seeing, believe me!!