Many of us are good at cooking, writing, organization, and even decorating our homes, but what about repairing a 150-year-old bridge with stones found in the yard? At Green Life Llanrumney Farms, another micro-business of ACE, we have been finding all kinds of treasures from years ago popping up as we continue to “bush” the pastures and land, and now we are finding piles of stones! Some of you may remember the old stone bridge going up to the Great House where Henry Morgan built a home for his wife Mary Elizabeth; later, the Parachinis, one of the first Italian families, built on top of the ruins that look out over the pastures.
This bridge was literally falling apart. While we have cement today to make repairs, we wanted to maintain the original look. So we hired Paris, or as the locals call him, Captain. Captain has been working many years in his profession, repairing the history of St. Mary and Llanrunmey one stone at time. We thought you would like to see what repairing and restoring an old stone bridge looks like, using our new-found stones. We asked him would he teach a few of our men how to do this form of art. Without hesitation, his answer was yes, and, while we hope it won’t take half a century to get this stone laid, Bulla and Johnson are picking up the trade, making their job skills even more valuable.
Now, we just need volunteers to help us collect them from the farm – sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
(Click image to scroll though gallery)
TRIP COST
There is an old proverb, “If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.” History proves that lasting change in a poverty culture is achieved by empowering the people to reach their full potential and become self-sustaining. ACE is invested in our community long-term and in conjunction with our partners in the US, we are identifying the circumstances of those around us in order to find real solutions for their unique needs.
The bridge looks incredible!!!
Nice work!!