Construction
The Eco-Block School provides five complete classrooms, fully furnished with desks and chairs, whiteboards, a filing cabinet, and a storage cupboard.
The school was complete in a total of 36 days. It took four days for community members to demolish the existing pop-up classrooms. Then, the construction team began by extending the upper level of the site to allow enough space for the new construction, which included reinforcement of the lower retaining walls and some additional repairs to the steps connecting the levels to ensure they are safe for use.
The existing foundations were then leveled and extended to fit the new classrooms. Due to the steep, narrow access to the school site and issues with water supply, water and materials needed to be carried from the nearby village by hand, and the local community was active in assisting with this process.
Upon the arrival of the Eco-Blocks from Finland, construction of the walls and roof commenced and was complete within five days. Over the following two weeks, the windows, doors, tiling, wall plastering, and painting were completed, and the classrooms were ready for use.
Being the first project of its kind in Indonesia, this project doubled as a training opportunity for the local construction team. The Chief Technical Officer from Block Solutions, Finland, joined the team on-site to guide them in building with the Eco-Blocks, assisted by the project’s Quality Control Manager, an experienced Dutch/Australian builder, who is fluent in the local language and oversaw the team’s work.