Making the Adobe Bricks

So, exciting news… the roof is about 1/2 way done! We just need to put up the tiles and skylights to finish up. I will put up pictures later. Please continue to pray for God’s provision as we move forward to finish our home!

Today, I want to share a little bit of what I learned about the process of making adobe bricks. I am no expert… just sharing what I saw and learned as I asked questions.

Truly, making adobe bricks is demanding and time-consuming in many ways, but it is a cost effective way to build a house. Especially in many third-world countries.

After weeks of watching these men make hundreds of adobe bricks to build our home and the staff housing… I have a lot of respect and admiration towards these men. They work hard and do their job well!

It takes a small team of men to build several hundred adobe bricks at a good pace. When they first started making bricks for our home back in January… they were making up to 100 bricks a day!

Next, they would fill up wheel barrows full of the mud mixture and wheel it to the end of the long line of adobe bricks set out to dry out in the hot sun. Those wheelbarrows are really heavy with the mud, but they were thankful to use them… most men use plastic buckets to carry the mud back and forth.

Then a simple, wooden frame is used to make two bricks at a time to make the process go a bit faster. The young guy in the red shirt fills one side at a time by packing it down firmly with both his hands and feet (sorry, didn’t get a picture of him using his feet to pack down the bricks). We were told that it is very important to make sure the bricks are packed down tightly to prevent cracks and breaks. Makes sense!

After packing it down for several minutes and smoothing out the bricks with water, he carefully lifts up the frame and moves over to do all over again….

• Making Adobe Bricks – Mother Earth News
• How To Make Adobe Bricks