Building Monde: Before everything comes water

To build the home we dream of—or really, to put up any kind of structure—we first need one essential thing: water. Right now, we don’t have that on our plot. So, before anything else, water must come first. And to get it, we had two options.

Option one: rely on what we call Zinwa water—government-supplied and filtered river water. This system delivers water for about three days every three to four weeks. Just enough to fill our two 10,000L tanks. But there’s a real risk of running dry in between flows, and I’m personally not thrilled about the idea of living without water. So, this wasn’t exactly my top choice.

Option two: drill a borehole. This route is kind of like buying a lottery ticket—a very expensive one. Just the drilling came to $4,900, not including the cost of preparing the road or surveying the land, which added another $1,500. And yes, all of it had to be paid upfront, regardless of whether we hit water or not. You either end up with a lifelong water supply—or a very deep, very expensive hole.

We went with the borehole. Because honestly, we’re not doing this half-heartedly. We’re setting this place up for our future, and that means investing now in the life we want for years to come.

It took weeks to plan and prepare. Getting our plot ready for a 35-ton truck was no small task—especially in the deep Kalahari sand. How do you stop a massive truck from sinking? By hand-digging gravel, hauling in water nonstop from town, and baking in the sun while laying it all out. Before we could even think of water, we had to build the road to get us there.

There are three crucial (and nerve-wracking) steps when drilling a borehole:

1. Get the truck into position.

2. Drill—and hope to find water.

3. Get the truck back out.

Each of these felt monumental. Sure, the first and third could theoretically be solved with money (which we’re short on), but number two? That one’s everything.

After countless days of hard work and false starts, the big day finally came. We were ready to drill. What was meant to be a seven-hour process turned into a three-day emotional rollercoaster.

Day 1: The First Attempt (March 17th)

9:40 – I arrived on-site. No drillers in sight yet, even though they were supposed to be here at 9. A great start...

10:10 – The truck finally arrived.

10:27 – The truck veered slightly off the gravel. A minor hiccup, but nothing we couldn’t handle.

10:55 – We decided to reverse the truck further into the sand to position it correctly.

11:15 – Drilling began!

11:45 – We were 46 meters in and still hitting dry Kalahari sand. No sign of water.

12:27 – At 60 meters, we finally saw signs of rock. A small victory!

14:26 – Sam and I passed time while the workers took a lunch break.

15:30 – Drilling resumed.

16:20 – Something was off. The casings weren’t going down as expected. We asked the workers what was happening—turns out, the casings were stuck. We needed to start over with a new method.

18:45 – I was ready to call it a day.

19:45 – We finally wrapped up and went home, exhausted but determined.

Day 2: Trial, Error, and Third-Party Advice (March 18th)

What it looks like to be drilling in dry Kalahari sand

6:30 – Sam picked up the workers, and they resumed where they left off.

8:20 – The casings were still stuck. Time to get creative. Sam headed to town to pick up 400L of water, four new casings, and me.

9:30 – Back at the plot, we poured water into the hole, hoping to lubricate the casings.

9:51 – Finally, progress! The casings started slowly gliding in.

12:00 – Things weren’t looking right. The workers were giving mixed explanations. Something was definitely wrong. Time to consult a third party—Clive, Sam’s dad.

A very real picture from day 2, tired and not super optimistic.

12:36 – We tested all casings to see if anything was broken. If they were, we’d have to start a whole new drill.

14:30 – The results were in: all casings were intact! A sigh of relief. We decided to pick up more water and try again.

14:55 – Water method restarted. After 20 minutes, it worked! The casings were moving again. We reached 60 meters and needed to push to 75.

16:18 – Casings hit hard rock at 80 meters! Finally, a breakthrough. Now, we had to remove all 16 rods to change the drill head.

17:30 – Problem. The drill head was stuck to the rod. We needed a special machine—one that was in Hwange, 1.5 hours away. We tried finding a local solution in Victoria Falls.

18:12 – No luck. With help from our community, we decided to send their mechanic to Hwange to fetch the necessary parts. We called it a day and went home for some much-needed rest.

Day 3: The Final Push (March 19th)

8:32 – The drill was back from Hwange and ready for action.

9:03 – Work resumed. One by one, all 16 rods had to be placed back in with the new drill head. We held our breath.

9:17 – All rods were in, and rock drilling began!

9:18 – Sand started coming out instead of rock. Our nerves skyrocketed. Had we really hit solid rock?

9:37 – Our first sign of water!

11:52 – The last rod went in at 110 meters. We made the call to extend to 125 meters.

Probably the best shower I have ever had.

12:10 – After three days of setbacks, problem-solving, and sheer determination, we finally had our water source. The journey had been intense, filled with highs and lows, but in the end, we conquered the challenge. This is just the beginning of our homesteading adventure—one that has already tested our patience, resilience, and teamwork.

Stay tuned for our next building adventure, figuring out how to build our house. 

Two very very happy and tired kids, ready to celebrate (after a 72 hour nap).