Coops overseas

As we were planning our trip, Charlotte, our Rwandan friend of over 12 years asked- would it be possible for Jay to build us a coop while you are here? Always one for a challenge, Jay said, sure! Now, one day was allocated on our itinerary for this build- and if we were home, that would be possible. A long day, but possible. Here, where supplies are found in many different market stalls rather than one drive to Lowes- Jay wisely started chipping away at the project during any spare moment.

First successful outing- finding wire. Seems like a small thing, but it was a big victory to us!

Next up, was lumber. Now if you've been reading along, you know that Jay had his phone stolen our second week here. Job, a Rwandan man at the market helped Jay through the process of searching every possible avenue for it's recovery. In the process he became a friend. When Jay knew he needed to get lumber, he called Job to see if he was willing to go with him to negotiate price and translate. Jay went to a place unlike any lumber yard he'd been to before.

Once he had his lumber, he began a rough construct of the coops he makes at home. All the wood was wet and twisted, none were straight. Undeterred, he got to work with his little helpers.

A week in, it started looking like something I see around his shop at home.

Getting the siding was another adventure. But I am pretty sure its in one of the photos above. Jay built this with a cordless drill and circular saw, and a hammer.

After it was wired and the doors built, he paused for the metal roofing. He knew moving the coop would be better without the risk of injury from the roof, so Job helped him secure a flatbed truck and a team to move it across town.

Great job, Jay! Coops for a Cause- Now serving New England and Rwanda. ;) haha

coopsforacause.net