Failure is a strong word. Maybe too strong for this occasion. It implies a sense of absolutism. A feeling that what’s done is done, or perhaps, not done, permanently incomplete. Holes in a newly constructed skate ramp aren’t a failure. That’s mostly because WAVES is trying again.
Repairing it seemed at first simple. We had to reengineer a structure that could hold the pressure of skaters without breaking. So we asked ourselves- What’s available to use to support the frame? Who can help us get the gravel to Lobitos? How do we work without electricity?
And then, as in life, we struggled with broader philosophical questions. How do we balance cheapness and effectiveness? How much time and manpower can we commit to this? And most importantly- what if we’re wrong again?
And this is what happens here. This is the process we’ve learned to embrace. A mirrored reflection of our environment- abandoned military buildings reclaimed by a town determined to keep trying with the minimal resources they’ve got.
Sam and I, along with Travel2Change volunteers Tristan and Alex, and some help from a few traveling handymen, started to fill the half-pipe’s inside to the top with rocks rendered the sides more secure, we scoured the area for large rocks. Alex and I happily delved into the concrete mixing, singing songs whilst building sand piles and waterfalls and uniting the two with a bit of concrete. (Alex reckons ‘ happy to add her new found skill to her resume). The boys took on the task of laying the mix down just right. A fight against gravity we barely won.
The WAVES team finished the revamp in a week’s time, and the result stands (now definitively permanently) at the entrance to Nuevo Lobitos. Alex and I showed off our half pipe skills, rocking back and forth hands in Sam’s- but local kids Henry and Alex had obviously been eagerly awaiting the ramp’s improvement.
See for yourself here!
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