En construction
When we were choosing a Dakar neighborhood sight unseen Les Almadies was described as being a neighborhood “under construction”. The description otherwise sounded nice. Near work. Near Allison’s school. Near the beach. Outside of the pollution of downtown. We were concerned about the constant din from big construction machines and vehicles. I imagined blasting, deep foundation pits, tall cranes, welding torches, big trucks piled high with building supplies, guys in hard hats taking over the sidewalks, leering over their ham sandwiches on white bread, quarter slots all around. We imagined cheap construction materials, uninspired architecture, prefab everything.
There is an enormous amount of construction going on in the neighborhood. The quiet is only disturbed by the gentle clip clop of small horse carts bringing cement sacs or steel drums full of water or lengths of rebar. Cinderblocks are generally made on site, as needed. Rebar is quietly trimmed and bent to fit in a terrain vague next to the building site. Each week, there are fewer and fewer of these vacant lots. More and more fancy villas grow, each one its own architectural reve come true.
Each time we pass, the workers smile broadly, wave to Allison, and “ca va?” in earnest. Most work in their flip flops, some barefoot. Most have bare heads, some, usually the chef, port chapeaus, usually stocking caps of some kind or another. Digging, mixing cement with sand, praying are all done in concert. La construction vive ici.