Amidaji construction news 2015 (part 2- updated)

Dear friends,

scroll down in the article for the last updates 
(6th July, 16th July, 27th July, 17th August, 6th September)!

carrying one of the seven rolls of wire

Finaly, I was able to start building the fence around the land dedicated to Amidaji. So, I bought 50 iron pillars (300 euro), 7 rolls of wire (250 euro), some gravel (50 euro), sacks of cement (30 euro) and various other materials.

car with gravel for making cement

First I cleared the portion of land around the old fence and I took it out of the ground. Then, I dig  holes of 40 cm , and I fixed the iron pillars in them with cement. The next day, when the cement was solidified, I attached the roles of wire on them.

The work was very hard and slow because the old fence was stuck in  wood bushes and small trees with thorns which needed to be cut one by one with chainsaw and axe.

clearing the portion of land
arround the old fence

Until now I completed two sides of the terrain, and in the next days I will repeat the same process (dig holes, fixed the iron pillars in them with cement, and attach the wire) on another side. So, this article will get a new update soon!

fixing the iron pillars
in the holes with cement

After the fence is finished, I will cover it with ivy (hedera helix), so that nobody can look from outside into Amidaji courtyard. Then, I will go on with plowing the land, and arrange it so that I can plant (in August) seeds of  white clover. This can successfully replace lawn, especially in this area with intense heat, and most important, it can fight against weeds.

attaching the wire on the iron pillars

This year I also plan to add insulation for the inside walls of the little Hondo I built last year. 

the finished fence on one side

the finished fence on the 2nd side of the courtyard

I am very grateful to all those Dharma friends who helped me until now, by donation and buying books. Now, I am again on the limit with the funds, and any little help is very much needed. So, anybody who wishes to continue to help this project, can do so at the DONATION link. Anything I am able to raise is put to good use. 

More news and photos will follow soon!

Gratefully yours

in Namo Amida Butsu,

Josho

UPDATE July 6^th:

UPDATE! I finished the fence
on the third side

I finished the third side of the fence.

the first branch of ivy (hedera helix)
was planted on the fence

I set fire to three big mounts of branches, tree stumps with thorns which were cut from the old fence.

I planted the first branch of ivy (hedera helix).

setting fire to the big mounts of branches,
tree stumps cut from the old fence

setting fire to the big mounts of branches, 
tree stumps cut from the old fence

UPDATE July 16th 

new water insulation paste

Unfortunately, there were some heavy rains recently, and somehow the water managed to infiltrate between the concrete platform and the wooden walls of the little Hondo (Dharma Hall). So, I added a new and stronger paste of water insulation, as you can see in the photo.

UPDATE July 27th 

the few materials I bought

I did not do extraordinary things in the last few days at Amidaji, as the funds are very few, but I still managed to buy a box with a paste for repairing some small holes in the wooden walls of the little Hondo, and a bigger one for re-painting it. I have to do this repainting every year with the same kind of paste, for protecting the wooden walls against heat and rains. Also, I set fire again on another (finally, the last) big mount of branches with thorns and other leftovers from when I removed the old fence and built the new one. 

the last big mount of leftovers to burn

Unfortunately, I have some bad news. I talked with

a team of workers who are willing to help me to add the thermal insulation and, to my sadness, it will cost me more than I was expected – that is, around 500 euros (all materials needed plus payment for their work). And 500 euro is the cheapest option – which means to add the thermal insulation on the outside walls of the little Hondo, not on the inside, as I wanted to do it, and which is more expansive. So, when I will raise this amount (I do not know when!) I will add the thermal insulation on the outside, which means that the outlook of the Hondo will change a little. Anyway, there is a good part in this, as the outside isolation lasts longer and does not reduce from the space inside the Hondo.

repainting the little Hondo

Please, help me add the insulation this year, so that I can do Dharma activities and services  during winter. Even a little amount of five or ten euro is gratefully received. The DONATION BOX is here and the link for buying books is here. 

  

Until I raise that amount for the thermal insulation I will continue with arranging the terrain of Amidaji. This also requires a lot of work, as all of it is done without any mechanized help. I hope that soon, I will be able to transform it into a beautiful little park with trees and alleys.

This is how the little Hondo looks like now!

This is how the little Hondo looks like now! It can receive 15 people maximum at a religious meeting. When I'll raise more funds I'll make a new bigger Hondo near this one and transform the present one into the library. But there is still a long way to go until then :)... Now the plan is to improve the present Hondo, to arrange the temple yard, build the bathrooms and make some small accommodation facilities for visitors or people who want to spend more days for Nembutsu meetings and teaching sessions.

We needed a 100m cable to link the little Hondo to the electricity source:

UPDATE: August 17th

Gansen is the specialist
in electricity, and when he speaks
I listen

On this Obon (14-15 august) I worked together with Gansen to add the electricity to the little Hondo

(Dharma Hall) of Amidaji. The materials needed were around 90 euro. For the moment, I had to postpone the work on the thermal insulation of the little Hondo, because I haven’t raised the amount (500 euro) I need. Due to the limited funds, the work at Amidaji continues at a slower pace. 

see the right corner

UPDATE September 6th:

 I am at Amidaji since last Sunday and I continue the work of arraging the land of the temple into a garden. The process is a long one, as the ground is very hard to work. You can see all I’ve done until now in these photos. After I ploughed the land, I planted white clover, which is a better replacement for lawn, especially in this part of the country where summers are very hot. I also treated the rest of the land with some substance against weeds. In Autumn I will plant as many trees as possible, firstly arround the new fence, and then in other parts of the terrain.

I’m still not able to start the work on the thermal insulation of the little Hondo (Dharma Hall), because I haven’t raised the necesary amount, but still, I can do a lot of things here which must be done.

If you can afford to, please consider a little DONATION to help me continue the work on the temple. Any funds I raise are put to good use, either for a big advance in the project (like thermal insulation of the Hondo, construction of bathrooms and rooms for visitors, etc) or smaller ones, like buying trees and further work on the temple’s yard.

Amidaji construction new 2015 (part 3)

- see Amidaji construction news 2015 (part1) -