The village of Man Zhao has alot going for it. They have excellent clay to make roof tiles. Here you are looking at the kiln. It is dug into the hill (perhaps man made) and the top is made of bamboo. There is a hill of special dirt at the forefront of the picture. The man is loading wood into the kiln. Off to the right is the road that leads to the village proper.
Here is a close up of the entrance to the kiln.
The clay is moulded into a long brick the size of the board in the picture. It is sliced off with an instrument that looks like a cheese slicer. The slice is laid on the board and the metal and wood "cookie cutter" shapes the tile. There is a little flap that is bent up on the end. This is hooked onto the cross lathe of the roof. Starting at the bottom of the roof the tiles are hooked on to the cross lathes of the roof and the weight of the tiles holds them in place.
The winter time is ideal for making tiles because it is dry and sunny. The tiles are laid in the sun and then stacked before firing.
The men share lunch. There is a table behind where women are eating. When we asked about this the men said it was just the way they sat down today to eat.
This may be difficult to see but it is a cow leash. There is a pole to the left of center with a long bamboo pole across the top. One end has a bucket filled with something to weight it down on and the other end of the pole that is way up in the air has a rope attached to it with the cow on the end. The cow is the dark animal looking spot on the right in the center. This was an ingenious way to keep them tethered and still give them lots of room to wander. The long bamboo is flexible enough to keep the rope from tangling.
This is a pump that brings water to the clay making, tile making operation. It was a pretty smooth running, practical method.
No comments:
Post a Comment