3/24/2018 1 Comment Chez WatkinsAs promised, a blog about the house. It took us a long time to get this house but we have been living here now for nearly two months so let me show you around! A large (very large!) four bedroomed house in a stunning location overlooking Lake Kivu We have a very large garden with two avocado trees laden with avocado and a papaya tree with lots of fruit ripening. And banana trees and three guava trees which have loads of fruits on them. The garden is too big for us so we have just taken over a part of it for growing vegetables with the help of our delightful day guard, Gilbert, who has dug over the land and sowed cabbage, onion and carrot seeds for us. We have a rainwater harvesting tank (that is usually overflowing as we have soooo much rain). Our tap water is supplied from a large storage tank filled from the metered supply. This seems to be off most of the time and as it isn't very easy to see how much is in the tank, water in the house can be an issue. But we have a very helpful landlady who will ring someone from the water company who will get the water flowing again (not sure how! ) Inside the house - four large bedrooms all ensuite- two of them empty but nice views. One room currently used as a store room for work stuff and the other our bedroom We have four ensuite bathrooms plus an extra toilet. We have four hot water boilers for the showers but none of them works. Electrical wiring and plumbing is an interesting puzzle. In one bathroom if you turn on the water from the boiler (cold as it doesn't actually heat the water) the water doesn't come out of the shower head it comes out of a hole in the opposite wall under the sink! When we were living in Rwanda last time we didn't have a kitchen so this year we are really being spoiled with a large kitchen with tiled work surfaces and a sink - double drainer!! The tap is only over one sink and the drainage is a bit dodgy and sometimes the water ends up on the floor. But we didn't have a sink last time so we are loving it. Spot the Vim - I remember my mum using it to clean! We cook using a small electric two ring hob. And we boil and filter water for drinking. We don't use the cupboards under the work surface but we have plenty of room on the top. We also have a store cupboard and a utility room! Our living room is also big and the furniture we have is dwarfed by the space. But plenty of room for some of my team to come and work with me. And the dining room has nothing in it - but Glyn uses it to keep his bike overnight! So there you have it - a beautiful house in Rwanda!
I hope I have answered the question, "Will you be living in a mud hut?" and also hopefully squash the stereotypical view of life in Africa.
1 Comment
Ann Sherwood
3/24/2018 12:04:38 pm
Hi mary, looks fab. Very inspired by you and Glyn.
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December 2018
Preparing to go back to our second home
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