Tuesday 5 September 2017

A Visit To The Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory.

Charcoal Factory, Part 1 - Inside the factory.

It took us about an hour to reach Kuala Sepetang. Surprisingly, there was no traffic jam on the expressway. Our first stop was at the Kuala Sepetang charcoal factory. None of us has been here before so this is our first visit. It was good that the rain stopped before we arrived and the ground was very wet.

[The Port Weld Mangrove forest is the largest single mangrove forest in Peninsular Malaysia and is acknowledged as the best managed mangrove forest in the country. The charcoal industry located here is recognised as a national asset and heritage.

A charcoal factory and kiln hailed as one of the biggest attractions in Matang Mangrove Forest is Khay Hor Holdings established in 1930. Chuah Chow Aun, the owner, is a passionate and active tourism player who is the driving force in promoting charcoal manufacturing as a tourist attraction.]
Photo #1
The Perak Tourism Appreciation Award 2009 is given to Chuah Chow Aun who has by his own initiative made a visit to a charcoal factory a must-see tourist attraction. He has managed to compliment the raw product of the mangrove forest and the end product - charcoal. 
Photo #2
 Welcome to the Charcoal Factory Kuala Sepetang.
Khay Hor Holdings Sdn Bhd
Photo #3
We joined the other visitors who came in cars and buses.
 Photo #4
Photo #5
We were given a brief talk on charcoal making.
Photo #6
Photo #7
Best quality charcoal is still processed traditionally from good quality mangrove wood. If you are interested to know more, you can click on this link to view the documentary video.
Photo #8
 An empty charcoal kiln.
Photo #9
Mangrove wood
Photo #10
 The kiln can be filled with about 40 tons or 1,500 pieces of mangrove wood.
Photo #11
A worker is sealing up the big hole with bricks and mud to leave behind a smaller hole. 
Photo #12
A big fire is lit through the hole.
Photo #13
The fire is kept burning for 10 days to reach a temperature of 85 deg. C.
Photo #14
 The fire is not to burn the wood but to extract the 80 % of water found in the mangrove wood.
Photo #15
After the 10 days of big fire, the wood is left to steam for 14 days to further extract the remaining water content.
Photo #16
 Mud is used to hold the bricks together.
Photo #17
 Mud used as a sealing paste.
Photo #18
Water content is released as steam through the holes and collected in these blue containers and processed as by-products (in the next post, part 2).
 Photo #19
After the 14 days of steaming, the kiln is closed up and the charcoal is left to cool for 8 days, after which they will be taken out from the kiln to be packed for distribution.


 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.
(Proverbs 26:21, New International Version-NIV)

50 comments:

  1. Fascinating, Nancy. I have never seen a place like this before! I hope you have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Linda. It is my first visit. Eye opener for me.

      Delete
  2. ...a charcoal factory, now that's something that I've never seen before. This is just another of the many things that I take for granted. Thanks Nancy for sharing, enjoy your day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Tom. I too have taken charcoal for granted. It was an interesting visit for me to see how they charcoal were processed.

      Delete
  3. Thanks for the many photos showing us the process and also for your detailed explanation. Does the air smell of burnt wood there?

    ReplyDelete
  4. How very interesting Nancy! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. We have a charcoal plant near us. It's a hot and dirty job! Thanks for sharing! Found you via Image-in-ing! Teresa from http://nanahood.com/our-sons-wedding

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree with you and we have taken the making of charcoal for granted.

      Delete
  6. A fascinating process. Your photos are wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Correct me if I am wrong, is there a market for charcoal nowadays, I thought all use gas already

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Libby. There is a good market for charcoal these days.

      Delete
  8. This must be such a hot and hard job!! And you have already answered my question about hos the charcoal and the mangroves are tied together...they use the mangrove wood. Now, what do people do with all this charcoal once it is made? Here, it is used a lot for cooking outside and barbecuing. Also to take for gas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ginny, most homes do not use charcoal any more but some still do. Hawker food still use charcoal to fry noodles and cook clay pot rice and others. We also use charcoal for outdoor bbq and older generation still like to use charcoal for slow boiling soups to bring out the natural sweetness of the ingredients.

      Delete
  9. This will be a great thing to experience. Wow!!

    http://missymayification.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This visit was an eye opener for us all. Have a good day!

      Delete
  10. Replies
    1. Thank you, dear. It was interesting to know how charcoal was made.

      Delete
  11. This is a whole new experience..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Interesting to know how charcoal are being processed.

      Delete
  12. Fascinating!
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/09/inwardly-gazing-with-monochrome-eyes.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sue for hosting. Have a wonderful day!

      Delete
  13. That's fascinating, i had no idea how charcoal was made. It looks like hot, hard work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And we get to enjoy the end product of all this hot, hard work.

      Delete
  14. I would love to see this in person. You do the funnest things.

    Have a fabulous day, Nancy. ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sandee. This is something like our school study tour!

      Delete
  15. Nice tour. Thanks for sharing.

    I never been to one before. Is it hot?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a cool, rainy day so we didn't feel hot inside the factory.

      Delete
  16. This would have been so interesting to visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Rose. We enjoyed the visit very much.

      Delete
  17. Been there once... like a study excursion.. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya, feeling like a school girl again! This time instead of taking notes, I took snapshots!

      Delete
  18. What an amazing experience. You took us on a wonderful tour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it was a wonderful tour and a great trip.

      Delete
  19. Oh, it takes more than a month to get 1500 pieces of charcoal! Interesting capture and describe on the progress, in step by step. Yes, the logs look best in quality

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One kiln produces 1500 pieces of charcoal. There are many kilns at the factory.

      Delete
  20. I've been to this place too, many years ago. Interesting visit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is my first visit. Have a beautiful day!

      Delete
  21. This is interesting. :)

    Always wondered how they "make" charcoal.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Interesante recorrido. Buen día.

    ReplyDelete

Your visits and encouraging comments are greatly appreciated. Please leave me your name and blog link for me to visit you. Thank you.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...