The 'road network' in Nuristan is mostly narrow gravel roads that are only accessible by 4x4 pickup trucks, aka the famous Toyota "Hilux." These roads either end abruptly (and turn into goat trails), or have numerous illegal check points that make shipping materials to the Northern regions of Nuristan extremely difficult and expensive. One of my contractors said he was going to have a helicopter deliver concrete to a job site- and then admitted two weeks later his plan failed and that his alternative is to have donkeys carry concrete over the mountains from Pakistan. A week later I received a progress report that had pictures of donkeys with two bags of concrete on their backs. Now that’s progress!
Material issues aside, the construction season in the northern regions of Nuristan lasts only about six months, as the climate and weather quickly succumb to a six month winter season. The southern regions of Nuristan are a bit more temperate, but maintaining quality work is still challenging as some contractors will take shortcuts at every turn.
The following pictures are from a job site visit of a road that cut through a town called Tupac (no relation to the deceased rapper). It is a very scenic village, bisected by the Nuristan river, with a spider web network of canals providing water to rice patties and corn fields.
The approach to Tupac- the large rocks will be broken down further to construct a retaining wall.
Simple concrete mixer- this is a plus as some contractors tend to mix their concrete on the ground.
The Nuristan river- perfect for a mix of white water rafting and dogding AK-47 fire.
Maneuvering through the rice patties in Tupac. Here is your "visual comparison" to Vietnam.
Taking time out by the river. Until next time- "pasawn maybeenum!" (See you later!)
