Most volunteer groups pour at least one concrete floor for a family during their service-learning experience in Nicaragua. For the most part, these projects are straightforward and simple to complete. However, the resulting physical and emotional health benefits are abundant.
Concrete floors:
- Reduce parasitic infestations, diarrhea, and anemia.
- Improve cognitive development in children by permitting “floor time”.
- Increase satisfaction with housing and quality of life.
- Reduce depression and perceived stress.
- Enhance respiratory health by limiting mold spores that can flourish on damp-earth floors.
See below for a step-by-step to see how these floors are created.
Each healthy home project requires the assistance of a local mason and some prep-work. Before a floor can be laid, the mason must visit the home to level the ground and create the framework using pieces of wood and cement mix.
On the day of the project, the group and beneficiary family first make the cement mix using three buckets of sand one bag of cement. Some beneficiary family members can be quite eager to help out, like this boy here.
Once the sand and cement mix are thoroughly mixed, a mini-volcano, as we like to call it, is created and water is poured into the “crater”.
More water is added until the proper consistency is reached.
When ready, volunteers shovel the cement into buckets and lug it inside the house where the mason is waiting.
The mason then pours the cement and smooths it out with wood or a leveling tool.
The finished product is quite impressive and completely changes the aesthetic and healthy conditions of the home. These floors usually take about two days to dry and cost an average of $200. By financing a concrete floor in someone’s home, you can make a direct impact from abroad. Donate here today.