| Neyi and Ismael’s House Neyi Adrián met her partner, Ismael, nineteen years ago. She lived in Sabaneta with her family and came Juan Moreno for the rum festivities organized by Santa Teresa (local rum company). Common friends introduced her to Ismael, and they have been together ever since. Today, they have six children and two grandchildren (one who is on the way). He works as a mason and she is the head chef of a local school’s dining hall. They built their house on a land given to them by Ismael’s mother, who has lived over forty years in Juan Moreno. Neyi tells us: “This house was built with my husband’s savings and my own. We built it gradually. Here, there was a Jobo tree… we had to go to the City Hall to have it cut down it. The land was a high ground. We took the extra soil with a pick and a shovel and sent a municipality truck to dump it off. It was then that we were able to build the house. We used some woodplanks that Fiat gave us (Ismael worked there at the time). As time went by, we began to build. We gave the extra wood to a girl from over there and to our niece, so they could make their homes too. The boards were large, they could make up a whole wall. Then a neighbor sold them a few blocks he was not using. They began buying the material weekly, whenever it was possible. Today, piece by piece, we are almost there. He (Ismael) was the builder of the house, with the help of our children. Berlín, our eldest daughter, loves to help her dad when he is working in the construction because she thinks of herself as an engineer.” “We are building bit by bit” because every part of the house has a little effort behind it. They brought the window bars for the living room on the motorcycle, the decorative strip of paint in the kitchen was painted by Neyi and last night they finished polishing the countertop. A year ago they plastered the inner walls because they got tired of seeing the brick blocks. Now they want to finish repairing the facade, plaster it, paint it and add some glass windows to keep the water from entering the living room when it rains. On the weekends they sell hot dogs on their porch. However, the porch will soon become the home of their eldest son who is expecting his first child. She tells us her children love playing with marbles on the street, they get along well with the neighbors. She is grateful to be a grandmother and proud of her daughters who are still studying. Her children’s education is her priority. We thank Neyi Adrián for letting us interview her and welcoming us into her home. Link: http://iqlatino.org/2015/viviendas-autoconstruidas-latinoamerica/
Image 1: View of the house from the street. Image 2: Neyi with four of her children. Image 3: The eldest son’s room, who made the shelves and painted the room. Image 4: The kitchen integrated with the living room. Image 5: Drawing of Neyi’s house. Image 6: The mango tree they planted on the porch and the girls who cannot stop eating green mangoes.
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