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.
If you are looking for the traditional stovemakers of Ipoh, this is the place, inside that cluster of sheds on the left. (19 October, 2018)
These are not flower pots but unglazed stoves. (19 October, 2018)
Half-finished stoves all over the place. (19 October, 2018)
Turntable where the glazing is carried out. (19 October, 2018)
A red outer glaze is applied to the finished stoves. (19 October, 2018)
Finished stoves. (19 October, 2018)
Checking out the kiln for firing the stoves. (19 October, 2018)
Traditional Stovemakers of Ipoh on Google Street View
Go down this path and you will find the cluster of sheds where traditional stoves are made.
The Traditional Stovemakers of Ipoh is found at on the Map of Ipoh
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.