PROPER cement handling and storage, curing of concrete and mortar and the use of admixtures in concrete were the focus of a recent one-day workshop facilitated by Trinidad Cement Limited (TCL) for Habitat for Humanity T&T.
This was the first of several similar workshops to be held for that organisation’s staff, home partners, masons and volunteers.
Participants were enlightened by TCL’s chemist Wayne Benjamin, who also provided expertise in the ratio of cement and water to be used in mix designs to achieve the desired cement strengths in concrete mixtures. The workshop was highly interactive as attendees sought to take advantage of the knowledge being shared and have solutions provided to problems and concerns pertinent to cement and concrete encountered on construction sites. Several common bad practices were reviewed to ensure that all cement applications result in durable and sustainable structures.
In addition to being a means of reaching out to users of its flagship product, TCL Premium Plus, the workshop hosted by TCL for Habitat for Humanity T&T was also a natural extension of the company’s existing partnership with that organisation. Since 2004, the TCL Group established an alliance with Habitat for Humanity with the aim of eradicating substandard housing as well as developing lives across the region. Over the past seven years, the group has donated cement to Habitat for Humanity projects not only in Trinidad and Tobago but also in Guyana, Jamaica and Suriname.
Participants expressed gratitude to TCL for facilitating the session, with Carlene Pooran, resource development officer, Habitat for Humanity T&T, indicating that the workshop was of tremendous benefit to those present. “Habitat is excited about partnering with TCL on this project. This partnership goes beyond the cementing of relationships to building homes as well as the community’s capacity in a very real and distinct way. The benefits can be seen firsthand when unskilled/untrained builders attend this workshop and then put their new skills to use; better quality homes which are aesthetically pleasing are built especially for the people with very finite resources.”
