Traditional Stovemakers, Ipoh

Half-finished stoves loaded on the back of a lorry, at Taman Merdeka, Ipoh. (19 October, 2018)

The Traditional Stovemakers of Ipoh (GPS: 4.62058, 101.07856) is a cottage industry in Taman Merdeka, in Ipoh, Perak. Here you can still find people making traditional stoves that are used in some homes as well as by some hawker stalls.

My wife learned about the traditional stovemakers as her boss visited the place recently. So when we made a visit to Ipoh, she decided to make a visit to the place. The place where these stoves are made was so unlikely, we almost overlooked it. That's because it is a ramshackle cluster of huts. I believe the clay came right off the ground itself - there was a tractor digging the laterite earth out front.

We got there on a rainy morning. Arriving at what appeared to be a doorway, we peeked inside and saw a man working inside. We asked his permission to come in, saying we were curious to have a look. He allowed us in, so we wandered around, amazed at the stacks of stoves in the process of being finished. The finished stoves were glazed red. In one corner, a lady was working on the stove by hand.

Further into the shed, which was larger than we had imagined, there were even a kiln to fire the clay. It has a hole that looked like the entrance into an igloo.