Storm damage in Lombok

While images of Jakarta flooding fill the news headlines, our own project was also suffering from the severe weather.

On its weekly inspection tours of the new village, OBRI was able to inspect the damage. Five houses were destroyed in high winds. It was a huge blow to the project and moral. Having worked so hard and fast to stay on schedule, this was a major set back for the builders. 

With the rains continuing and the access road also damaged, rebuilding the houses would not be a simple task.  Plus there was the additional cost to worry about.

Fortunately no-one was injured when the winds ripped through the houses and sent them crashing down.

 

Seeing all the problems with rain, road access and lack of materials, it became clear that there was only one solution. CEO Martin Gow concluded that the priority was to get the road repaired first. This would mean materials could once again reach the site allowing the builders to build and rebuild. Even if it was still raining! He promised that this would be done immediately and OBRI would provide additional funds to ensure it happened. 

Rain, rain and more rain.

Along with the bad weather come new challenges. In the January storm, five houses were destroyed and will need rebuilding. More on this story later.

To add to the problems, the 12km track to the new village is now impassable. Heavy rain has washed away whole sections of road. As a result the delivery lorries cannot reach the building site and materials are running low.

To ensure the village is completed on schedule the answer had to immediate. OBRI met with Pak Camat to discuss the problem and agreed on a joint effort to repair the road. He was kind enough to supply the excavators and other heavy equipment, will OBRI provided funding, lorries and labour.

There was no time to loose as every day meant another days delay in finishing the project. Following the meeting with Pak Camat we immediately went to see what was needed. In total there were seven areas where the road had become a mud bath. Impossible for even cars to navigate.

It took 200 lorry loads of rock to repair the damaged road. Pak Camat promised the work would start the next day and true to his word, the repairs were completed in 4 days.

With the road temporarily repaired, materials to complete the village can now reach the site.

Thanks to everyone for working so fast to repair the road. And many thanks to Pak Camat for his support and cooperation.

The people that make it happen

Building 109 houses, a school, clinic, mosque and training center is no easy task. Especially when you are racing to complete the village before the rainy season!

But the great work that Team Sunut has done in sourcing materials quickly and getting them delivered to the construction site has been a real success story.

On site it is the Sunut community and their families that are really making a big difference. All helping to build a new future for their community. 

With about 200 people working, progress has been rapid.

 

On our last visit to the island before the new year, we managed to catch up with the Village Head also working on the site. Here are just some of the men, women and kids all helping to do their part.

OBRI will be back in the new year with a new update. Until then, Happy New Year to all our readers and followers. 

New village takes shape at Teanjah Bay

Each week Ocean Blue Resorts visits the site for a progress update.

View of new village from Gili Sunut

When we restarted the construction seven weeks ago, all we had were the foundations in place. The 7 hectare site was just a couple of dirt tracks cut into the hill with only the promise of things to come.

Since then, progress has been rapid. The new village at Teanjah Bay looks 55/60% completed.  From Gili Sunut you have clearly see two distinct villages in the making. Followers of the blog will remember that we had to stop work on the first village at Teanjah Anjah due to one individual claiming the land belonged to him. And while he lost the court case in Lombok, he went to appeal in Jakarta in his bid to disrupt our progress. So there stood the community’s new village, 80% completed and unusable. As a result Ocean Blue Resorts Indonesia and the community started the whole process again of building a second village next to the first.

View from the road approaching the new village

For the last two weeks, a team of workers have been carefully removing all the terracotta roof tiles, door frames and window frames from the first site (Teanjah Anjah) and is reusing them at the new village (Teanjah Bay). This has saved a lot of time in sourcing materials and transportation costs. Not to mention being good for the environment. 

Here are some of last weeks photos. The transformation speaks for its self. 

Appeal for Shoes UPDATE

In a surprise visit to the island, Ocean Blue Resorts invited a special guest from Singapore to meet the community and tour the area. Arjan generously donate shoes and clothes for the kids.

An impromptu fashion show resulted, with two young girls showing the crowd that gathered their new dresses. Not sure they enjoyed all the attention, but they did love the new outfits.

Many thanks to Arjan and his family in Singapore for providing all the cloths.

Meanwhile back on the beach, the boys wanted to get their photo posted on the internet again! Here is Anafi with 4 friends..

Kids on Gili Sunut November 2012

Always there to welcome you with a smile, we are adding more photos of the children currently living on Gili Sunut.  Watch out for frequent updates. 

They are the changing face of the community. And they get to see the builders and their families working on the new village each day. With the new village at Teanjah Bay visible from the island they watch as their new homes and future takes shape.

This group of familiar faces met me on the beach and wanted to be on the internet!  They know about the blog site and so we try to show them on the laptop when we visit.

“Celebrity" they shout as a friends face appear on the web.

School's out for the day and this eager student couldn't wait to say hi and see what all the other kids where doing on the beach. Seeing Ocean Blue Resorts could mean footballs and candy. No time to loose.

There is no way this young boy was going to stand next to the girls. 

Teanjah takes shape in week one

Two weeks into our building schedule, real progress could be seen at the new village site.  

The first 6 houses were taking shape and lorry after lorry had delivered the supplies needed to keep the builders busy.  With the threat of the rainy seasons soon approaching, everyone at Team Sunut was focussed on buying materials and ensuring as much as possible was delivered before the 10km track to the project became impassable. 

On site were Pak Yasin and Pak Muhasim to check on progress.

With the full support of the community the excitement once again mounts.