Brick making Indian style

Today we were travelling to the Periyar area in Kerala. On the way we stopped by a family brick making business. I use to inspect brickworks in my previous job so I was fascinated by this very different approach. There are a number of these small brick making businesses along the road. Each one is run by a family. Here you can see the woman clearing the ground prior to the bricks being laid down to dry. The tray in the front with four slots has clay patted down into these moulds which are then emptied onto the floor. When the bricks have partly dried they are turned onto their sides. They usually dry within a day.

The dried bricks are wood fired in small kilns built up within a brick outer layer. There is just a metal roof above this.

The bricks are sold to a merchant who sells them on at a far greater price.

Only three years ago they found that some of these families were living in slavery. Having been brought down from the North.