Yauly: March 2010

Another visit to Kuala Sepetang town for seafood and Charcoal factory.
Sceneries from the restaurant

The charcoal factory in Kuala Sepetang is located right in the middle of a spectacular mangrove forest. kuala Sepetang is located in north Malaysia, near the old town of Taiping.Charcoal was made from burning mangrove wood but discovered that the process actually involves logs being “baked” over a 20-day period under intense heat reaching 240°C in an enclosed kiln.The heating process is an art to master as it takes experience to determine the intensity of the fire, to gauge how things are going from the smoke belching out from the sides of the kiln and finally to decide whether the charcoal was ready.
The charcoal factory, operational since 1930, has a total of 10 magnificent domed kilns.Each stood 7m high and measures 7m in diameter, is constructed with 22,000 bricks and costs RM12,000.Depending on its usage and maintenance, a kiln of this kind could last up to 10 years.At the factory, mangrove logs are brought in by boat via a manmade canal.They are then debarked and dried in the sun before being put into the kilns and stacked up in an upright position.Each kiln can accommodate up to 50 tonnes of mangrove logs, much of the weight being due to the high moisture content of the logs.Once they have been fired in the kiln, the charcoal logs are left to cool down for at least eight days before being removed.By then, they have blackened and become 80% lighter. A large amount is exported to Japan, with less than half allocated for local consumption (the ratio is about 60:40).The potassium-rich charcoal chips scattered inside the kilns are also gathered, packed and marketed as planting material; they are highly sought-after by gardeners, especially orchid growers.