CEMENT BLOCK MAKING MACHINE COTTAGE INDUSTRY OF BELIZE

BELIZEAN CEMENT BLOCK MACHINE

This is a typical cement block making machine is Belize. Usually a three man operation. It has a steel mold. This one is a deluxe variety, with a hopper to feed cement. The smaller ones, usually are hand fed cement with a shovel. The wood pallets in the back ground carry three cement blocks and as the machine vibrates the cement to settle it, the block is then lowered onto the plywood piece, which can carry three blocks. Then two helpers who mix the cement by hand and also carry the plywood with three blocks over to the outside yard for drying and curing for three days. Production varies between 200 and 300 blocks per day. There are probably 2 dozen such cement block machines to be found in the seven districts of the country of Belize. This is the cottage level type of business which is typical of Belize, with a population of 315,000. Most of the workers are casual day labor in the construction trades and they tend to shift from job to job.