In the heart of Africa, you'll find a congolese brick-maker who can't keep up with the demand of his community. They had an opportunity of a mostly-covered workspace that was big enough to manufacture bricks. They imported a Doubell Jumbo MK3 brick-making machine over 10 years ago and have been making concrete cavity blocks ever since.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (not to be confused with its west-neighbouring state the Republic of Congo) is to be found in central Africa. It is a second-largest country in Africa with nearly 100 million people. The official language is French.
With practice, the workers have a rhythm of pre-mixing batches of aggregate for the machine. They are consistent with their ratios and there are enough artisans skilled to train new workers as needed.
Adding a touch of colour can set your bricks apart from the rest. It could also overcome natural colourings of the crushed stone or sand at your local quarry that you are displeased with.
The day's production mixture is set out in the morning. As blocks are made, water is added to dry heaps and then taken to the machine for the next batch.
This continues throughout the day and gives a good indication on the speed and progress they are making (by looking at the remaining heaps at whatever time of day.
Multiple moulds allow the brickyard to build up stock of various types of bricks or blocks.
Blocks cured for 24 hours are packed in batches and dated to record how long they have been hardening for.
The machinery has been hard at work for over a decade but still performs its function with only a few parts requiring replacement every few years.
Below is the machinery that was purchased to make this brickyard possible:
*Electrical vibrator kit option