Sanding a house

Sanding the inside of the new tukel aka brick mud hut

Tabitha is our neighbor and good friend. She and her family are so nice and patient with me learning my Mabaan. So today I saw her carrying buckets of sand into the house wondering what she was doing I invited myself over. She explained that she was sanding the inside of her son, David's, new tukel.

 The women here in South Sudan this is there job- sanding the house. The men build the home and roof and place the first layer of mud and grass. But it is the women's job to make the inside look nice and smooth. 

So I asked Tabitha to teach me how to sand a house. And I studied her technique and tired it out myself. It's a lot of fun. Maybe not to the women who do this all the time. But to me learning something new and getting plenty dirty doing it was fun! It is a lot of work and takes many hours to complete. The task will take place over a few days. 

Me learning from the professional-- Tabitha

Ladies at work