Hi permies,
We have a starting homestead in Suriname, a tropical country in the north of South America and a former colony of the Netherlands. The roads here are hardly maintained by the government, so we have to make sure that our plot remains accessible.
The road suffers from a bad muddy surface and heavy rainfall. There are always holes in the road where the rainwater remains. The weight of the vehicles pushes the material of the road to the center and to the sides, so that the part you drive on hollows out. Unfortunately, we do not have the budget to tackle it properly, so I am experimenting a bit with the material I have, which is: sand, "kraskow" and gravel.
About kraskow (see photo): it is a kind of black rough sand that tends to clump together. When delivered, it often comes in large chunks (which we often break up with a sledgehammer). I do not know exactly what kind of material kraskow is, I think it is a natural material. It is used a lot here because it is firmer than regular sand, washes away less and eventually hardens and allows less plant growth.
On the path I sometimes experiment with a combination of kraskow and gravel. Then I first pour kraskow and then gravel and then press the gravel in a bit. This works a bit on footpaths, but cars are so heavy that it is pressed out anyway.
Parallel to the road I often dig a small groove where the rainwater can flow in so that it does not remain on the road. Usually the water finds its way to the lowest point but the solution is always only temporary.
Today I was working on a stretch of road and suddenly had an idea. The grooves that are dug parallel to the road could perhaps be filled with the pieces of kraskow so that the outward force of the vehicles is stopped and the sand on the road stays more in place. Is that a logical idea? (see photo with the channel and the chunks on the left)
I have also thought about digging a kind of bulkhead in the ground, like they do when reinforcing the quays at canals. This is to keep everything in place.
I was wondering if you have any good suggestions for this problem and how you can maintain a road in an area with heavy rainfall on a low budget. I am very curious about your suggestions and look forward to the responses.
Kind regards,
Anouk from Suriname
