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32 | FireFlyz
Picture
Perfect
Carrying
Traditions
FireFlyz visits Kuala Sepetang for an insight on traditional charcoal making.
B
esides
its excellent
seafood and famous
restaurants, the humble
coastal town of Kuala
Sepetang in Perak is also
known for its charcoal
factories. As a result of
a 30-year work plan by the Perak State
Forestry Department, Kuala Sepetang has
become one of the major producers of
charcoal for local and overseas markets.
Charcoal manufacturing has been the
flesh and blood of the local residents since
the 1930s and the traditionwent on as this
coastal fishing village is surrounded by the
mangrove forests. Today, approximately
eight decades later, the charcoal produced
at Kuala Sepetang is considered one of the
best in Asia and is in high demand on the
international market.
I m a g e s :
D a n n y T a n
Mr Chuah Chow Aun, owner of one of
the charcoal factories in Kuala Sepetang,
is the second generation in his family to
continue the business that was started in
1930s. This multi-lingual chapwho speaks
fluently in English, Bahasa Malaysia,
Mandarin and various Chinese dialects, is
a gifted story teller who makes it hard not
to listen to, with his intense explanations
of the charcoal making process.