Page 173 - Changing Living Spaces

Traditional Pottery Making as a Local Asset for Sustainable Development

sandy clay materials, and beaten with hand tools to improve the potency
and durability of the hide. After the clay is beaten to a certain consisten-
cy that makes it a smooth mould, the women potters begin shaping it into
the desired contours with great care and skill. The raw clay profiles are
then placed on wooden boards and first dried in the sun. Then they are
placed in a smoke chamber in a kiln until they are completely dry. Finally,
they are fired in a kiln at 500 to 1200 degrees Celsius for up to nine hours
until the black soot is gone. The blue-greenish, sandy material facilitates
the strength of the pots and helps them withstand temperature shocks
(Zizira 2019).
The potter produces the characteristic black colour of the pots by
quenching red-hot sintered pots in cold organic liquid immediately af-
ter the pots are removed from the hot kiln. The red-hot pots turn per-
manently black immediately after quenching, another unique technique
used by Larnai potters. The organic liquid resembles a milky solution
made from the crushed bark of a certain tree called ‘Sohliya’, scientifically
known as Myrica nagi. Foods prepared in such black pots taste better and
have a longer durability. Once the baked pots are removed from the kiln
and cooled, they are polished, shipped and sold in large quantities to trad-
ers in different parts of the Jaintia and Khasi hills (Zizira 2019).
Studies have been conducted to reduce the environmental damage
in the production of pottery in modern times. These studies can iden-
tify several environmental standards for pottery production. Based on
the current trend and conditions, pottery makers have followed certain
standards. They mainly aim to use resources sustainably, thereby reduc-
ing pollution, increasing user satisfaction and prolonging the durability
of a product (Ziaee, Nadalian, and Marasy 2017, 300).
The soil for the large potteries of Larnai is supplied by the surrounding
fields. Due to the high iron content of the soil in this province, the colour
of the pottery after firing is visually striking. Another characteristic of
the soil is its resistance to thermal shocks, which has resulted in various
dishes and objects that have been directly exposed to fire.
In the potteries of Larnai, the women artisans form SHGs (self-help
groups). The latter usually take the main responsibility for making the
pots, and the men help them with the more difficult tasks and work, such
as collecting clay from the Sung Valley and transporting it from the fields
to the workshop, or transporting the objects to the kiln or to the urban
market. The activities up to making and drying are confined to the bound-

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