bano del campo.... not really what I look forward to when there/..////

amstellite

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Sep 5, 2007
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Just got back from the DR where I spent a week with an amazing family and their friends from El Limon. Villa Gonzales near Santiago... it is in the campo up steep hills accessible by motoconcho or burro only....everyone is soooooooo unbelievably nice and friendly ... embracing with fervour on the first encounter and smiling constantly... a place where you can smile a a child without someone calling the police, and where you nod a hello to a stranger on the street and it is greeted with a wave back and not a look of worry that you are a nut....but the one thing I found I really wasn t cut out for was the toilet....I ve been camping and roughed it but this is beyond it. it is basically a corrugated iron shed completely full of rusted out holes and no bigger than a closet with a wooden " seat" and a hole... that 's it. that I can understand but this had a unhinged " door" you had to lean up against the frame and three whole families with kids , mums and dads ( about 15 people) used it - and it was in full view... everyone knew your business... but only I seemed to have an issue with using it... the privacy thing we hold so dear here in the US does not seem to be of any concern in the campo.... anyway my question is this....I wondered if anyone knew what it might cost to have a new one built with new corrugated iron or even blocks, and a proper bowl... not the plumbing... that would have to wait... but the basics and the building materials.. what would I be looking at if I told them I would build them one??any ideas, or am I stepping on toes and insulting them?/
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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I just got stuck into a new block bathroom, this is with a flushing toilet/plumbed in and shower, with sink. The bathroom is tiny, only about 10' by 11', +or-. For all the materials, inc pump, Tinaco, pipes, re-bar, blocks, sand, cement, lights, cables. The entire materials came to RD22,000. (hang on I've forgot the tinaco + RD3250)
So for the blocks alone for a bathroom of say 4-500 blocks, sand, cement, re-bar. you can do it for 10,000, rendered for 12,000. If you do not have a good contact for the blocks then add 3,000.
 
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La Rubia

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Jan 1, 2010
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Glad to see you're back in the DR. Guess the horse didn't kick you so badly, you still want to get back on.

You'd really be building it for yourself, as you've said the family doesn't mind.

And if it had a seat, it's better than some, as those with just the hole are out there.

If you came to my house and offered to redo my toilet after I'd put our the red carpet, yeah I'd be offended--but I'm not Dominican.

Before you "tell" them anything, why don't you ask? Most likely they'd rather have other things.
 

La Rubia

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Jan 1, 2010
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Funding Latrine Projects

Found some Peace Corps latrine projects that are looking for contributions. (maximum for any one project is US$550.00.) You are a very giving soul, and it's not mine to judge, but you may get more satisfaction and less heartbreak by helping projects that are being doing by others in support of the community, not individual families.

Dominican Republic | Appropriate Projects
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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To be honest I hate long drops, they are horrid. If you are going to do it then do it properly. Buy the materials for the fundamental construction now, get that built and prepared to be plumbed in in a few months when you can afford the pumps and Tinaco, piping etc. Make sure they understand not to use it until it is plumbed in and you have a flushing system, running water etc. It is **** easy and cheap. Certainly worth the wait for them.
Nice thought ans you will have a house for life if you go ahead with it.
 

La Rubia

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I just got stuck into a new block bathroom, this is with a flushing toilet/plumbed in and shower, with sink. The bathroom is tiny, only about 10' by 11', +or-. For all the materials, inc pump, Tinaco, pipes, re-bar, blocks, sand, cement, lights, cables. The entire materials came to RD22,000. (hang on I've forgot the tinaco + RD3250)
So for the blocks alone for a bathroom of say 4-500 blocks, sand, cement, re-bar. you can do it for 10,000, rendered for 12,000. If you do not have a good contact for the blocks then add 3,000.

You've given detailed, specific information, which is what the op asked for, but I'm only wondering what condition the house is in?

Building a bathroom to those specifications in the campo may make for a very mismatched situation.
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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Before you "tell" them anything, why don't you ask? Most likely they'd rather have other things.

haha, sure they would rather have other things, stupid things, not the logical practical things, that is why I didn't ask my mother in law when I built her kitchen and bathroom, I suggest don't ask, just tell them if they would like this is what you would like to do for them.
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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You've given detailed, specific information, which is what the op asked for, but I'm only wondering what condition the house is in?

Building a bathroom to those specifications in the campo may make for a very mismatched situation.

It is in Campo. It is an upgrade of what they have now, which is a good thing, isn't it?

Obviously I don't know exactly where it is, but any improvement is a good improvement IMO.
 

La Rubia

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Jan 1, 2010
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haha, sure they would rather have other things, stupid things, not the logical practical things, that is why I didn't ask my mother in law when I built her kitchen and bathroom, I suggest don't ask, just tell them if they would like this is what you would like to do for them.

Yeah, family is one thing, new friends are a whole different ball game. She's lucky to have you, I'm sure she was thrilled.
 

La Rubia

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It is in Campo. It is an upgrade of what they have now, which is a good thing, isn't it?

OP has a history of at least one case of helping until it hurt (both them and him). I think it's great he's trying to help. There are still too many people people without latrines, so I don't find it particularly necessary to redo a working latrine for someone that has one.

I had a fabulous throne that I wouldn't have replaced with a porcelin (sp?) one in a campo that would never have water with enough strength to flush properly, if they ever got water.

It's OP's history that makes me err on the side of caution, as sometimes no good deed goes unpunished, or so they say.
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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10? by 11? is a tiny bathroom? Where would that be considered a small bathroom? Standard size for a standard house used to be 5?by 8?. I know that when a lot of constructors went to McMansions instead of building for people they grew, but still 10 X 11 might be average, not tiny. We are doing a few projets with outhouse types here in the batay that are corrugated metal, known locally as zinc. I can put in touch with the project supervisor and he can tell you how much he pays for all the materials locally. We?re between Puerto Plata?s airport and Puerto Plata itself. Der Fish
That is 10'(ft) by 11'(ft) for a bathroom with toilet, sink, shower. there aint much room for dancing in there buddy:classic:. Infact I'm completely arse about tit here and got my numbers screwed up, it is 7'x9'. The kitchen is the other measurements. Doh:confused:. My mistake.
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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It's OP's history that makes me err on the side of caution, as sometimes no good deed goes unpunished, or so they say.

Oh, yes for sure you gotta be careful who you help. No point in helping people who don't appreciate it, respect YOU for it, not what you are giving them. Charity is exactly that, selflessness, but when you are talking about helping people you know, or you think you know, sometimes it can be better not to help at all, sometimes bringing these factors into a relationship can destroy it. Today it is a bathroom, the next day he walks into a Colmado and orders a beer on you without asking you first. Be careful, good people or not, once the rock starts rolling it can be difficult to get off without causing hard feelings.
 

Givadogahome

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A standard US Bathtub as in most bathrooms is 5 ft long, and that is the width of the bathroom. It is 22 inches wide and the 6 ft is taken up by a commode and 36 inch vanity. I?ve installed a couple hundred of this style and size bathroom.

I haven't even gone that far. I've got the toilet bowl in one corner, the shower head in the other, and hitched the sink on the wall opposing both. I've simply made the room drain into the centre to drain, job done, so it kind of doubles as a Dominican wet room rather than bathroom, which is great for cleaning down.!! Still a small room 7' x 9'. Just enough to get dried down reasonably comfortable.
 

amstellite

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Sep 5, 2007
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to be honest... I ve been on many all inclusive vacations and been to a\many beachy touristy places in my life.. they always left me empty and thinkingI could have been doing the same thing back home on Long island.... to be frank.. I can t stand loud obnoxious tourists .. i really find something special in helping... I have no kids... so maybe that';s part of it,....whatever the case, playing dominoes with the old men, and just having a ball with people who really do know how to enjoy life, is to me the best vacation...it can be heartbreaking, sure,,,,but it is all real and I do belive I am making some sort of a difference
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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I think it is lovely what you propose to do, i wish more people would, but the reality is most (not all) expats keep themselves out of shanty living, see it from a moving car, read about it online or in a paper, and then profess knowledge of how it is. The truth is it is great fun, I've never felt sorry for anyone as they always seem happier than I am, so something is right with the situation, and I think it is community and family that keeps spirits up. I love spending time in campo, I don't mind the no doors and no privacy thing, it's all willies and boobies in the morning when we visit the in-laws and everyone is helping each other with the bucket of water for the shower out back. Like you I'm not so much into people talking to me face to face while I'm on the crapper, hence the new bathroom, lol.
Go for it buddy, it's worth it even if only for your next visit.
 

expatsooner

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Aug 7, 2004
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If you are going to be visiting on a regular basis for extended periods of time and this is what you would like to do to make your visits more enjoyable for yourself as well as upgrade their property overall - go ahead it is your money. But if you just leave the money and say you want it spent on building a new bathroom you will never see the new bathroom completed. This will have to be very hands on for you - and if you are only going there a few times a year you must decide if it is worth it to you or not.
 

LaTeacher

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May 2, 2008
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i think that amstellite is admirable for actually going to see the country instead of locking himself down in an all-inclusive.

but i think it's to the point that we're enablers for his addiction to giving. he's going to keep getting himself in bad situations if we keep giving him the support. i mean, it's his money, yeah, but he is part of the reason why every time i go to a campo with my parents or other north americans, the hands get held out - because some dumb gringo came in and started handing things out and now these people think that's how things are supposed to be.
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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Poor you!
Don't go Campo if it effects your life so much. I am sure helping a friendly family in need is more to the point than worrying if some NA has to say, sorry but no!
Or even better, settle in a developed country where you are surrounded by equals rather than a country you know to be poverty stricken. Just an idea.