I have not updated this blog for a while now due to so many events that have happened since the last post. Currently mom is readmitted again to the keningau hospital and she is really tired and looks so fragile but her motivation is high and we know she will recover soon.
It is now January 2008 and somehow I feel energised and look forward to many interesting developments this year. My wife and constant source of inspiration has been busy decorating our humble home at Eagle Plateau.. Oh yesss, we finally managed to build a small home as promised way back in 2001. It is a simple design that mirrors our need for a functional and self sufficient home at EP.
The promised home which we talked about with friends and family at a gathering in 2001 is a project that was challenging because we wanted to build it with a very limited budget and a commitment to using as much recycled material as we could find. And That is why it took so long to complete.
Anyway, now that the home is almost ready, we can take some moments to sit and reflect on the many aspects of building the facility. Frankly, we had no building experience but over the years we learned how to look for the right sources to either buy or get the recycled materials needed to construct our pet project.
From the beginning, we wanted a home that would be completely self sufficient, meaning, we wanted a home that would look after us and not the other way around. So the design had to include serious considerations relating to the energy needs, utilities and lifestyle as well as ease of maintenance. Doris and I and indeed all family members are ham enthusiasts so we wanted the home to be configured for Amateur Radio friendly format with room for the Radio Station, Sufficient Power Supply as well as convenience for antenna systems to feed into the home without being unsightly looking. We are also into Amateur Astronomy. And want to make provision for an amateur Observatory to be constructed later.. maybe phase 2 ;)
But the most important and over riding consideration was and is still the amount we could allocate for each phase of the construction.. yes.. our budget was very limited.
Our plans and ideas were at least 10 years old ! meaning, we had started to think about building this family project in 1998. And budgets had been locked at 1998 prices while current level of inflation robbed us of the value our money can now afford to buy materials and other needed services with. So our prices were way out as timber and cement prices has since skyrocketed..
And so with all of the limitations we faced we wondered if we should even attempt to lay the foundation stone of the new home. But as we talked late into the morning hours about our dreams.. it became apparent that my wife was getting more enthusastic about the idea of realising this persistent dream of having our own self sufficient home. And so it was.. that we threw all reservations aside and embarked on our accepted challenge.. we always work very well as a team anyway and this was not just any other project.. it represented our deepest desires to build a sanctuary for the family.. So together we excitedly switched on the Green light to begin the new adventure ...!
Before we started, we managed to do a barter trade with our good friend Robin for the use of his 1.5 ton ISUZU Light Truck. And we are very thankful that he was so willing to go along with us on the deal. We would never have managed to build the home without this very faithful transportation facility. Yes the light truck was the main workhorse we used to transport everything to Eagle Plateau. From cement bags, sand, gravel and timber to furniture and used vehicles tyres for our recycling projects, the LT did it all !
we had to abandon plan A and activated Plan C instead. Plan B was bypassed as transportation cost had also gone up by 50%.
Plan C meant we had to use all our back ups.. For timber, we searched the cheapest stores selling timber and plywood offcuts as well as factory rejects that would still be suitable for simple molds and props. The house is a single storey plan so loads are not as heavy. But for more savings, we checked out my sister, Ida's store for used timber and she kindly gave us the bulk of the timber which had been salvaged from our old store. The timber quality was still very good and we just had to spend more time removing the nails and other screws attached to them before we painted the recycled timber with green preservative paint and sorted them ready for use as the roof and ceiling timbers.
For bricks and other materials, we traded with friends where ever we could to get mutual benefit. My friend Chow for example, owns an electrical shop and he wanted to buy a vintage Power Inverter from me. I counter suggested that if he could give me 4 rolls of aluminium electrical cables for our distribution links, he could have the 1 KW Power Inverter. To which he replied" No problem.. when do you need it? "
Such was the spirit and theme of the building process that we ended up having more materials than was needed to build the home.
For the labour and other skills needed, we also did as much bartering as we could. I spend most of the time supervising and helping to do hands on installation especially with the electrical and plumbing while Doris attended to the purchasing and the overall managing of the limited resources we had gathered together. It was truly a labour of love and adventure. But not without its attendant frustrations. Our greatest problem was the weather and the dirt road access along the narrow ridge that leads to Eagle Plateau. So many times, our faithful Light Truck had to overcome climbing problems and had to radio in help from friends when we really were unable to pull out of the muddy road ! Among the kind friends who responded to calls for help were our friends Joseph Kunui and Nelson Ng. To this day, the road is still an adventure to drive on when it rains. One section of the narrow ridge is eroding and in need of urgent repairs.
How fast did we complete the home?
Can you believe it? In spite of all the challenges and the frustrations, we managed to complete the main house in 3 months !! But of course there are so many aspects that still needed to be done which we can do on a slower pace. Plan D is now activated.
Main features of the house so far;
The house is a 2,800 square ft, two bedrooms tropical bungalow with bathrooms attached. All utilities such as water and electricity are supplied using Solar Photo Voltaic power and Rain water collection techniques. We also have multiple backups for water from our spring water source.
The solar water heating system is all set and installed except for the main storage tank which unfortunately became a bee hive while waiting to be installed on the roof.( For those of you familiar with the SOLAHART solar water heating system, the main hot water storage tank, which we parked under our temporary store apparently attracted a swarm of honey bees and they have now made it their home !!) We have not yet decided what to do with the honey bees for now as we notice that they produce good quality honey !! Our good friend Robin helped us to extract the honey in November 2007 and the taste is really delicious with a cross between cherry and fragant perfume honey ! We are thinking of getting a proper bee hive and will try to persuade the bees to move into this wooden hive. In the meantime, we will let them stay at the SOLAHART tank and produce more honey as we are not in a hurry to activate our solar water heating system yet although all the hot water piping are all installed in the home.
The House is cool because we also placed used tyres for part of the foundation as well as good ventilation. So far, we are pleased to see that we have incorporated a functional program of using all the nature assisted concepts for comfortable living despite the remoteness of our location .
So you can now imagine a home that uses 240 Volts AC Electricity 24/7 and clean water in abundance all from nature. We have a small veggie garden next to the home ( next to the kitchen actually ) and our communications systems include a full Amateur Radio Station powered by the sun ;)
Our Fruit Tree planting projects are ongoing and some have already started to flower so in a few months we should be enjoying avocados, juicy pineapples, guavas, star fruits and a few others.
We hope to install more energy efficient features and facilities to the new home as we enjoy the warm and wonderful feeling of having done it hands on.. yesss its really a nice confident feeling. Thanks to all of you who have kept the us encouraged, motivated and thinking positive all the time.
Peace and Happiness Always,
Doris and Alfons and the kids
