Brisbane Based New Home Builder Helps Out In East Timor

By Author: Sharyn Parker
Total Articles: 39
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Building Timor's future
Indigo Homes recently headed to East Timor to continue building (yes, physically!) a relationship with one of Australia's less fortunate neighbours.

When Indigo's purchasing manager, Clint Joyce, agreed to lead a week-long building project in a remote village in East Timor, he knew he wasn't in for a typical holiday.

Usually you're a tourist. But we were there to expand a school high up in the mountains above the clouds; we were right amongst the locals.
Life above the clouds

The week of adventure began even before Clint and the team of volunteers with the Terrace Timor Network arrived in the mountain village of Railako Kraik,.

The roads from Dili quickly deteriorate into dirt tracks; you have to cross rivers to get there. I've done a little bit of four-wheel driving, but this was a definite adventure, Clint says.

What a week can do
While the group of 12 included a couple of Queensland tradies, the bulk of the keen volunteers were building novices. Still, under Clint's guidance as a registered builder, and with plenty of help from willing locals, ...
... the team constructed the new school building in record time.

The locals had had no equipment, so they had levelled the site by eye, says Clint. The first day we grabbed our levels and began digging the building platform with shovels and picks.

Because torrential rain hit most days by 3pm, the team set a cracking pace for the job, starting work at six or seven in the morning, and often working through the rain.

This was riskier than it might sound, as the volunteers' accommodation was about 30 minutes away by 4WD. We had to hope the rain stopped or we'd have nowhere to sleep! says Clint.

Indigo Homes - a ‘human' company
When they did sleep, the crew bedded down in a basic shed that was part of the legacy left by Indigo Homes' director and co-founder Chris La Franchi who took the same trip in 2009. Inspired by a friend from the Terrace Timor Network, Chris researched East Timor's history and decided Indigo could help.

The real story was pretty horrendous, says Chris. You wonder how it could happen on our doorstep. Going there to help made me feel a little better.

What Chris didn't realise was how this project would impact his own life.
I took my teenage son, to help him grow as a person. Things you take for granted here are your daily challenges there.

Indigo Homes have now committed to sending a team member every year to build in Railako Kraik.

One reason I wanted to have my own business was to be able to help the wider community. Timor is a perfect example of that, says Chris.
Indigo Homes doesn't only spend time building in East Timor. Indigo is an award-winning Brisbane-based new home builder with designs for all sites - traditional, sloping, small lot and acreage. You can check out all their new home designs here.

However Indigo Homes does far more than just build homes. They've also created the No Surprises Building Book, available free. The book helps you get up to speed on all the steps involved in building a new home, who's responsible for what, and typical timeframes.