MY2011 - Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory

After learning about the sustainable management of mangrove forests at the world’s best managed Mangrove Forest Reserve, we headed across the road to Khay Hor Holdings, or more famously known as the Kuala Sepetang Charcoal Factory, to learn about the best charcoal production in Malaysia.

 

 

Awarded the Perak Tourism Appreciation Award in 2009, Khay Hor Holdings had successfully turn around this “sunset” industry into a must-see tourist attraction in Taiping.

 

 

Surviving as one of the only few traditional charcoal making factories in Malaysia, conventional methods of charcoal production brought over from China are still being practised today.

 

 

And we were lucky to have the owner, Mr. Chuah, whom patiently gave us a tour of his factory, guiding us through and explaining to us the traditional processes of charcoal making.

 

 

After harvesting and debarking the greenwood or kayu bakau minyak from the Reserve, the logs are transported by boat into the canal, which is situated right in the middle of the factory.

 

 

These 1.6m 25kg logs are then carried into the factory, where they are stacked by the side of the igloo-like kiln for drying.

 

 

Once they are ready, a “professional log arranger” will place each log on top of a brick and arrange them neatly inside the kiln, ensuring adequate airflow.

 

 

This is followed by the arrangement of the outer bricks to seal the kiln for baking by a “professional kiln maker”.

 

 

For up to 10 days, the baking is done continuously with a temperature of 220 degrees Celsius, and throughout this 240 hours, an employee or “head” is required to monitor the fire and temperature to ensure that the optimal heat is maintained.

 

 

After being advised by a “professional smeller” who smells the moisture and humidity of the smoke produced through the combustion process, the employee would then further seal the kiln with clay and continue baking it for another 14 days, but this time, at a much lower temperature of 84 degrees Celsius.

 

 

Upon completion, the kilns are left to cool for 8 days before the entrance is broken down.

 

 

During our visit, we were invited to a sauna inside the cooled kiln, but guess what, it was still a lot hotter than the temperature outside.

 

 

Lastly, employees transport the ebony black charcoal out from the kiln to the storage area …

 

 

… before packing them into 5kg bags, ready to be collected by the distributor.

 

 

Through this visit, we learnt a lot about the traditional processes of charcoal making (thanks to Mr. Chuah), and we really had to salute those employees who work in such harsh conditions to bring to the world, the best charcoal in Malaysia!!