GRAND DESIGNS?

Imagine - Kevin McCloud, presenter of the British Channel 4 series GRAND DESIGNS, stands in front of the Roundhouse at Sky Hacienda. He looks grave.

"When June and Ed took on the task of building a contemporary stone and adobe house in Bolivia in August of last year, I had my doubts. They had no previous experience of building a house, let alone one made of earth; no budget; no firm idea of its design, so no architects drawings; no knowledge of managing workers - nor, indeed of their primary language of Quechua.

They had to bring electricity to their 10.5 acre piece of land, which took several months of beaurocratic wrangling; organise the hand-digging of a well to provide water to the property; and endure endless weeks of their 20 year old minibus being worked on by mechanics after the engine blew up.

For 8 months of the year they worked in dry desert conditions under the blazing high altitude sun. For the other 4 months they battled to keep the heavy rains from battering the life out of their earth building.

Today was the day when they had planned to move into part of the Roundhouse whilst they finished the enormous living area in the next couple of months. But a combination of over-optimism and three heavy rainstorms that required redirecting work to prevent water damage have meant that this will not happen. The earth floors are yet to be finished, and this could take another month.

Although June and Ed had previously limited themselves to designing and project managing the build, they are now working 7 days a week to help the finishing work along. June is limewashing the interior walls, and Ed is fabricating the 2 metal gates to secure the grounds of the Roundhouse. They get up at dawn, drive from Sucre to Sky Hacienda and return to their apartment in the dark. Their life is totally consumed by their desire to move into their dream home.

The thing that amazes me is their continued enthusiasm with their project in spite of all the setbacks. They say there isn't a day goes by when they don't love being on the land, watching and helping their creation unfold.

This project has gone beyond June and Ed's original idea to inspire people to design beautiful buildings out of local natural resources. What has emerged quite unexpectedly is the strong connection between them and their team of local builders . The attitude of their workers is incredible - every one of them strives to produce the highest quality craftsmanship in what has ceased to be just a job and is, instead, a creation in which they are so proud to be playing a part."