I am always amazed at what craftsmen know how to use their hands. In Namibia even more than in Switzerland, because tools that make work easier are rarely seen here on construction sites. The wage costs for the (mostly black) workers are a fraction of what is in Switzerland. You can do without labor-saving tools and use more manpower. I have never seen so many construction workers shoveling on a construction site as here. Cranes are not used – at least when building a single-family home. The workers throw the bricks from man to man and from floor to floor until they are where they are needed.

And there is something else that distinguishes the craftsmen from here from those in Switzerland: They are on time; they laugh and are happy that they have a job. (I often experienced that very differently in Switzerland!)

PS. I still remember the times when beer was drunken on construction sites in Switzerland. We bring our craftsmen fresh water every day, which they really appreciate.