First site works for the new Rumah Kambera community medical centre
Before the centre can be built, the land needs stone walls, levelled ground, water, electricity and a working base for the people building it.
Construction of the new Rumah Kambera community socio-medical centre in Kawangu is now underway. After acquiring the land, Fair Future Foundation moved into the second phase: securing and preparing the site before the main buildings can rise. These photographs document the first month of work, when the project is still made of stone, earth, timber, measurements, water and long days outside.
A perimeter wall is being built by hand from mountain stone around the land. At the same time, parts of the site are being levelled and prepared for the next stages of construction. A small timber lopo has also been built. It is not decorative: it provides the structure needed to install electricity on the site. We now have a 2.2 kW supply, enough for tools, lighting and the practical needs of the current works.
Water was another prerequisite. A few months earlier, using our own drilling equipment, we reached groundwater at around ten metres. That water is already part of daily life on the site: it is used to mix cement and concrete, wash, cook and drink while the team works. Having water and electricity available before the main construction begins changes what can be done here every day and reduces dependence on external supply.
The images show a centre before it becomes a centre: foundations, stone walls, survey work, a lopo taking shape, drilling equipment, workers, vehicles and the first water coming from the ground. Rumah Kambera is planned as a permanent base for medical care, prevention, training and field logistics in East Sumba. For now, the work is simpler and more physical: prepare the land correctly, build what must last, and put the essential infrastructure in place before moving to the next phase.
Alex Wettstein – Un futuro giusto Fondazione Campo medico-sociale in East Sumba – Casa Kambera, Lambanapu – 10th of September 2025
