Category Archives: Building

From Ruin to Home

Posted on November 7, 2018 by peterjearle

Sept 2008 – 2010. In a little hollow, one of several scooped out of the hillside over the millennia, I bought a one acre property with a ruined cottage. Plot 123. This tiny side valley in our village of Haarlem … Continue reading →

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Smoke, but no Fire

Posted on August 8, 2018 by peterjearle

When Dawid October approached me for advice about selling his home on Plot 222, Haarlem, I asked him what price he had in mind. He said R35,000-00; then when he saw the look of horror on my face: “Do you … Continue reading →

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Backpackers’ Hostel

Posted on August 13, 2017 by peterjearle

74 Voortrekker Road was a shell when I bought it in 2004. The original yellowwood  (Podocarpus falcatus ) floors and ceilings had been ripped out as the short term owner had been under the illusion that he would make a … Continue reading →

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LEAVING BOTSWANA, almost.

Posted on December 19, 2016 by peterjearle

From the start of the new Millennium to 2003, in Maun, Botswana, Bastion Construction grew from nothing to having 35 souls on the payroll, which might sound like nothing much, but more than enough for somebody who had previously had … Continue reading →

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Namibia – To SWAKOP and back.

Posted on October 16, 2016 by peterjearle

Catriona Teed-Rollo, who had boarded with us during her days at school at Delta Waters International School, arrived by bus from Gaborone to spend a few days with us in Maun, Botswana, at the end of April 2002. She was … Continue reading →

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Off the grid on the THAMALAKANE FAULT

Posted on June 8, 2016 by peterjearle

By the end of 1997, the Power Tower was complete, the borehole dug by Water Africa’s jumper-drill rig, and the pump installed. It was driven by the solar panels on top of the water tanks on the Tower. I worked … Continue reading →

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By Accident

Posted on December 1, 2015 by peterjearle

As Maun Senior Secondary School expanded, new access was needed to the new houses. New roads came into being. The MSSS Construction Unit kept pace with the interlocking paving of all the roads and car parks complete with kerbing. All … Continue reading →

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Maun Senior Secondary School

Posted on November 9, 2015 by peterjearle

I invested in the purchase of a power-float machine that had a petrol engine, together with spare blades, as there seemed to be a need for it in my burgeoning construction business. Sometimes I was a stand-in site-agent for other … Continue reading →

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Structure & Roof

Posted on June 23, 2014 by peterjearle

Slowly, slowly, the house grew out of the ground, a rondawel lounge with a fire-place that backed onto a kitchen over a cellar. I used a curved shutter that was moved around a centre guide. Stairs outside curled around and … Continue reading →

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