Tiny House Tanzania Season 3 Episode 2

So I promised some stories about being creative on the Tiny House Tanzania that I think even Zack from Tiny House Nation on FYI Network would be proud of.  This week I am going to talk about the bathroom.  

I made the decision early on to switch to a tile floor throughout the house instead of the concrete topper we normally use.  The tile helps in several ways.  First it is easier to clean especially with a mop.  Second it tends to feel cool all the time giving you at least something that is cooler on hot days.  Third it allowed me to remove the shower pan in the bathroom and go with the tile floor as the shower and just put in a floor drain. 

Removing the shower pan, gave more room for the toilet by allowing me to move it inches into the shower pan space.  In most bathrooms here the toilet is so close to the shower it gets wet and my bathroom was going to be the same way.  So I decided to capitalize on that and assume it would get wet and accept it allowing me to move it away from the wall. 

The shower is a simple water supply pipe with a gate valve installed mid way up.  It then goes to basic shower head that does nothing special.  I don't have hot water on the house because they use up to much wattage to heat the water and my basic solar system (coming in a week or two) only produces 300 watts.  When it is hot around here the black tank we have elevated to gravity feed the water into the house gets hot and the water is normally warm(ish) in the afternoons.  However we have had a lot of cloudy cool days here lately (I actually wore a light jacket all day including my walk on Wednesday).  So the shower has been cold, very cold.

I had the contractor install both the toilet paper dispenser and the towel bar on the opposite of the bathroom.  The toilet paper is actually protected by the toilet to keep it from getting wet.  I had the hand sprayer for cleaning the toilet (and some use as a bidet) installed shower side so if I need water pressure to clean something it is there.  I also had an open spigot installed near the shower drain so I can wash clothes in my bucket there. 

The sink is beside the shower along with the soap dish that holds my bath soap and shampoo.  Unfortunately dandruff keeps me from using bar soap all the time for shampoo.

Over the sink I installed a Command Strips mirror that also holds your shaving razor that I had the good fortune to come across in the States.  On each side of the mirror I installed metal lunch boxes to hold personal toiletry items.  The larger one, the stormtrooper, holds my toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and shaving cream.  The smaller one, the minion, holds my stray hair clipper, nail clippers and cotton swabs.  I got this idea when I saw a Pintrest post of someone turning an old suitcase into a medicine cabinet.  My needs were much smaller so I decided to use the metal lunch boxes instead.  I used Command Strips to attach them to the walls and it has worked great for the first 3 weeks. 

Lastly I used a Command Strip device to hold brooms and mops to hang my mop up in the bathroom so when it drips dry it will do it on a tile floor with a floor drain.  And that is pretty much the bathroom.  Like most things here you have to clean it more often due to the dust in the air, small ants and some flying insects that get in.  I normally give it a through disinfection 3 times a week with the biggest one on Saturday. 

In addition to the bathroom, wanted to brag on our kids again.  Our end of July test and the average score of our Standard 1 students was an 80.  We have one boy that struggles a lot.  I helped administer the tests and every question he needed an explanation of what they wanted to know.  His younger brother has a severe type development issue and I am guessing he struggles with something similar but on a smaller scale. 

 

Haje from the Baby Class all worn out from testing

For story time this week, Tia and Tamera Mowry  read "No Mirrors in My Nana's House" written by Ysaye M. Barnwell which also featured a song.  The loved it.

Other events this week included an engagement at Church on Sunday.  Let's just say I have never seen two people so unhappy looking about getting hitched.  But that is the Tanzania way not to smile if you are the guests of honor for something like that. 

There have also been an evangelical minister and her husband from Goldsboro, NC in the village.  I went to two of their evangelical events at the TPC sugar plantation.  A lot of singing, including the Kiruani Choir which hopefully I got loaded to show you below.