Build Your Own Cathedral.

79-year-old Justo Gallego Martínez is no architect, engineer, or even a bricklayer – but that doesn’t stop this farmer from building his very own cathedral in the town of Mejorada del Campo near Madrid, Spain.

He has financed his work by rent from some inherited farmland — some of which he has already sold. Donations from supporters and visitors are welcomed. Most of the construction materials used are recycled (buckets, pieces of wood, plastic tubes, etc) — occasionally obtained from business and construction companies with excess materials for a job. Progress on the cathedral is therefore visibly marked by the nature and quality of materials that he acquires in this way. The columns are moulded using old petrol drums, the window arches carry the marks of the tires they were moulded in and bicycle wheels have been used as pulleys. Strength is ensured by using extra quantities of cement. There has as yet been little time for finishing surfaces. The rose window is without glass — but there is a long mosaic staircase leading to the main entrance.

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